Rabbi Yisroel Szapira of

Grodzhisk Grodzhisk is a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Elimelech Szapira, author of ''Imrei Elimelech''. Grodzhisk is the Yiddish name of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, a town in present-day Poland. Lineage * Rabbi Elimelech Szapira of Grodzhisk (b. 1823, d ...

was a Hasidic

rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. His father, Chayim Meir Yechiel, was the son of the Grodzhisk Rebbe,

Elimelech Szapira Rabbi Elimelech Szapira of Grodzhisk (1823–1892) was the leading Hasidic rebbe of his time in Poland. He was a ' (follower) of the Rizhiner Rebbe. After the death of his father, the ''Sorof'' of Mogelnica, he assumed leadership of the Grodz ...

. When his grandfather died, some of the Chassidim chose Yisroel as the new Rebbe, others chose to wait for the young son who would eventually become the Piasezner Rebbe.

Writings

The teachings of Yisrael Szapira are called ''Emunat Yisrael'' (on Torah) and ''Binat Yisrael'' (a second work on Torah)

Death

Yisroel Szapira was killed at the

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...

Extermination Camp. At the beginning of ''Emunat Yisrael'' there is an account of the event:

When the people entered the camp, the community of thousands, into Treblinka; the people asked the Rebbe: "What can we say now"? So the Rebbe answered softly, "Listen my brothers and sisters, the Godly nation, it's not for us to understand the actions of God and if it has been decreed for us that at this time we are to be the ''
korbanot In Judaism, the korban ( ''qorbān''), also spelled ''qorban'' or ''corban'', is any of a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is korbanot, korbanoth or korbans. The term Korban primarily re ...
'' (sacrifices) for the birth pangs of the Messiah, this is a great and lofty level of the redemption. We should rejoice in our fortune, just as '' Chazal'' (Talmudic Sages) say "Let the Messiah come, but I should not see it" that means he's not yet here. But we, when we reach this level, we must rejoice because we merited that our ashes will purify the whole of ''Am Yisrael'' (the Nation of Israel). Thus we are obligated to not hesitate and to not cry as we walk into the furnace; we must be happy, while singing ''Ani Ma'amin'' (I believe with perfect faith. And just as Rabbi Akiva did when he was murdered we will say the ''Shema Yisrael'' when the time comes.

The community fulfilled his holy words, sang the ''Ani Ma'amin'', and recited the ''Shema Yisrael'' in the ultimate sanctification of God's name.

External links

* http://hebrewbooks.org/3894* http://hebrewbooks.org/3863 Polish Orthodox rabbis Hasidic rebbes {{Hasidic-Judaism-stub