Rebbe Rebbe

his own freshly laundered clothing and gift it to this man as a ‘new set’ of Shabbos clothing. My grandfather was meticu- lous in folding this ‘new’ clothing before placing it in the bag.

My grandfather always invited this man to sit next to him at the head of the table, exclaiming “Reb so and so, you’re such a big Talmid chacham who deserves to sit at the head of the table with me”. My grandfather began this practice after noticing that others avoided the guest because of his offensive odor. My grandfather wholeheartedly felt that every human being, regardless of who and what they were, deserved to be treated royally with dignity and re- spect.

HaRav Ahron Walkin: I heard the following story from a family member of mine who accompanied my grandfather and grandmother to Eretz Yisroel: In preparation for their trip, my grandparents packed thousands of dollars of meat for their son R’ Chaim and his family. In those days people would buy American meats for Israeli family members when they would visit them since Israeli meat was scarce and ex- pensive.

Upon landing in Lod, customs discovered the meat and con- fiscated it. Unbeknownst to my grandfather, it was illegal to bring meat to Israel. My grandmother was extremely dis- traught since she packed two years’ worth of holiday meat for her son. My grandfather however was surprisingly calm and seemingly happy. When a family member asked why he was so calm, he responded, “When I asked the border patrol