The Earthquake in the Bais Medrash

The Avritcher Rav survived the earthquake in Tzfas in a miraculous way. He was in his Bais Medrash davening Mincha when the tremors began. As soon as he understood what was happening, he warned his followers not to leave the shul or go outside. Instead he had them crowd around him while he fell down in nefilas apayim, with his hands and feet outstretched, in a gesture of total surrender to Hashem.

The Bais Medrash had a domed roof, and the earthquake brought down most of the dome and the walls. Only the small area where the Bas Ayin lay prostrate, with his followers around him, remained untouched, and they were unharmed. Only two support pillars remained standing, and the dome was left hanging almost in mid-air. To commemorate the miracle a plaque was set up that reads: “Ma nora hamakom hazeh, how awesome is this place, the Bais Medrash of Rav Avrohom Dov, the Admor of Avritch, zecher tzaddik livrocha, who survived the great earthquake in Tzfas in the year 5597, and in his great merit he saved half the shul from destruction. He and all his talmidim survived.”

The Avritcher saw the earthquake as a sign of coming redemption. He took the Hebrew letters of the word for earthquake, ra'ash, and rearranged them to spell sha'ar, a gate, an opening toward salvation. He cites Sanhedrin 98, where the talmidim asked Rav Yossi ben Kisma when Moshiach ben Dovid would come. He answered, “When this gate falls and is rebuilt, and falls again and is rebuilt again, and then a third time, and they will not have the chance to rebuild it again, because then ben Dovid will arrive.” The words sha'ar and ra'ash have the same gematria as Tzfas (shin 300, ayin 70, reish 200, totaling 570, and tzadi 90, peh 80, tav 400, also 570).

There had been two earthquakes that claimed many lives, and the Avritcher predicted that this third one would be the last and that Moshiach would arrive before the final rebuilding was complete.