The Last Hoshana Rabbah
In the last week of his life, the Biala Rebbe spoke of his father, of his ancestors and of Moshe Rabbeinu's passing, and his Chassidim understood only afterward.
A story ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of Bialaרבי דוד מתתיהו רבינוביץ מביאלאProfile ›
It is told that in the last days of his life the Biala Rebbe spoke in a way his Chassidim had not heard before. As he left the sukkah he surprised them by speaking of the passing of Moshe Rabbeinu, and he wept.
On Hoshana Rabbah, weak and in tears, he told those around him that his father, the Chelkas Yehoshua, had come down from Heaven to help him finish the service of the day. He asked that it be done exactly as his holy forefathers had done it. Only later did the Chassidim understand that this had been his last instruction to them.
On Shabbos Bereishis he came to the bais medrash, davened with the community and said the blessing for the new month, though he was too tired to join the seudas shlishis. When Shabbos ended, his Rebbetzin found him sitting with a sefer of his forefathers. He remarked quietly that his grandfather had died young. She answered that his own father had lived to eighty and his mother to ninety. He said nothing and went on learning. A few minutes later, his heart stopped.
Some of his Chassidim compared it to the Berditchever Rav, who also left the world in the days right after the festivals, on that same date, 25 Tishrei, in the week of Bereishis.
Source: Mishpacha, issue 678 (18 September 2017), “The Best Defense” by Aryeh Ehrlich, citing the Rebbe's gabbai, Rav Boruch Toisig, on his words and tears at the farewell to the sukkah, his passing on Motzaei Shabbos Bereishis, and the Chassidim's comparison to the Berditchever; the words about his father on Hoshana Rabbah, Shabbos Bereishis and the final Motzaei Shabbos are told among Biala Chassidim. No English edition of the full account.
The Rebbe spent his last days speaking of his parents, his ancestors and what he wanted his children to keep. You can do something similar without waiting for a special occasion. This week, tell one person who shaped you what they gave you, in a sentence or two, aloud or in a note. Ask an older relative to tell you one story from the family. Then do one small thing exactly the way your parents or grandparents did it, and tell your own children why.