An excerpt from the new book My Gulag Life: Stories of a Soviet Prisoner, stories by Reb Mendel Futerfas OBM, published by Hasidic Archives:
Reb Avraham Bartzuner of Homyel once asked the Rebbe Rayatz for a blessing to immigrate to the holy land of Israel.
Echoing the words of his great-grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Rayatz responded, “Create the Land of Israel here.”
In 1929, when the communists shuttered the Lubavitch yeshiva in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, the students and teachers split up and established smaller yeshivas in several different cities.
With ten students, I traveled to Homyel, where Reb Avraham greeted us.
It seemed that Avraham had singlehandedly upheld Jewish life in the city. He organized a small school, as well as classes for the community, one of which he taught himself.
When we arrived, he immediately began raising money for us. He ate little, and spent much time in study and prayer. The Shema prayer before bed took him two hours to recite. Tears streamed down his face as he reflected on the “sins” he committed during the day.
I once asked him why he experienced so much regret, when his entire life was devoted to community causes and Yiddishkeit.
In his booming voice, he answered, “Yeah, yeah, but it still stinks [from haughtiness].”
