In the second half of the 19th century, one of the leaders of Polish and Galician Jewry was the renowned poseik and rav, Rav Sholom Mordechai HaKohen Schwadron zt”l, known throughout the world as the Maharsham. He served as Chief Rabbi of Brezhan for over 30 years, and although he was called the “Brezhaner Rav,” he did serve in a number of communities before arriving in Brezhan.
An incident occurred during his years in the town of Butchatch, where he served as Rav. The shochet (ritual slaughterer) of the town was a good, G-d-fearing person. He had an only son, who, in the course of time, joined his father’s trade and helped him with his work. One day, while plying his knife, the son cut his right hand, injuring his fingers to such an extent that he became incapacitated. The injury was devastating and life-threatening. The shochet took his son to many doctors, but not even the sophisticated physicians of Lvov (Lemberg) could help him.
Naturally, the father and son were heartbroken. One day, the shochet entered the Maharsham’s house and poured out his bitter tale of woe to the Rav. “Please, Rebbe,” wept the poor man, “he is my only son. Bless him with a r’fuah sh’leimah, a complete recovery. He is a G-d-fearing boy, and he needs a means of earning a livelihood. How can he provide for his family if he has such a terrible wound? Indeed, he started helping me very capably when this happened. So much for my hope that he would eventually assume my position as the town’s shochet when I retire! Please, Rebbe, help him!”
Well, of course, the Maharsham commiserated with the man, blessing him and wishing him a speedy recovery. However, after a few days, the blessing still did not seem to have any effect. The miserable father frequented the Maharsham’s house to no avail. One day, an entirely original idea dawned on him. He came to Rav Sholom Mordechai and said, “Rebbe, my son is a firstborn and of course he had a pidyon ha’ben. But now that I think about it, I am not 100 percent sure of the lineage of the kohen who I employed. Where can I find a ‘kohen meyuchas’ (a genuine kohen of impeccable lineage) to perform the pidyon ha’ben?”
Rav Sholom Mordechai smiled and said, “Let me tell you a story. Reb Moshe Berniever, of blessed memory, was an ardent follower of the famous chasidic leader, the tzadik, Rav Meir’l Premishlaner zt”l, and used to frequent his court on many occasions, especially on Shabbos. On one occasion, when Reb Moshe was there spending Shabbos in the court of his Rebbe, the tzadik ordered his shamash to call a ‘genuine kohen’ up for the Torah reading. The shamash was at a loss to understand how to fulfill the command. How was he supposed to know who a ‘genuine’ kohen was? However, he was quite familiar with the mystical ways and style of his Rebbe, the tzadik R’ Meir’l. He was sure that the Rebbe did know who the ‘authentic’ kohen was, and fearing he would call up the wrong person, he preferred to remain silent.
“‘Don’t be foolish,’ exclaimed R’ Meir’l. ‘Can’t you see that Reb Moshe Berniever is here, and he is a real kohen? Go ahead and call him up!’ Such an identification from the lips of a tzadik reputed to possess ruach ha’kodesh is quite sufficient to consider one an undeniable scion of Aharon HaKohen. Reb Moshe got the aliyah!” The Maharsham paused for a minute and then concluded, “Do you know who Reb Moshe Berniever was? He was my father!”
The shochet yelped in joyous surprise. “In view of the Rebbe’s impeccable yichus (lineage) as a ‘genuine’ kohen, maybe my son did not have a kosher pidyon. I would like to redeem him again, from you. Maybe, with Hashem’s help, he will get well. I read a similar story in the Sefer Chasidim by Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid.” The Maharsham agreed.
The old shochet did not waste time. He promptly obtained the five shekels required for the redemption, prepared a festive meal, and invited the Maharsham, the “real” kohen, to perform the of the Pidyon HaBen ceremony for his suffering firstborn.
To the shochet’s great amazement and relief, his newly redeemed son reported a dramatic improvement in his injured hand. Immediately after the ceremony, indeed just a few short days later, the son’s wound began to heal, and his pain subsided. In a few days, his suffering ended. To his utter delight, he was able to resume his old occupation of shochet and again assist his aging father, until he was ready to take over as the town’s shochet.
(Maharsham of Brezhan, by Rabbi Baruch Kalinsky)
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
