A Blessing and a Dynasty

Adapted by Zalman Goldstein, a grandson of Hinda Golda Winter

A difficult decision lay before her parents, residents of the town Premishlan, Galicia in the early 1900’s, and a young teenage girl. As was customary in those days, her parents betrothed her to her cousin whose family lived nearby while they were both young children, and she excitedly awaited the day they would marry and begin raising a Jewish family.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, her groom-to-be was drafted into the Polish army and served in the army for several years traveling throughout Poland. Through merciful divine providence, he managed to return home intact physically and spiritually, yet he brought with him a new determination.

Back in Premishlan, he described to his family the vicious anti-Semitism he experienced among the Poles during his time in the Polish army. “There is no future for us Jews in Europe,” he wept. True to his words, he soon set off for America, hoping to find a haven in which to build his future.

After spending several months exploring various Jewish communities, he made his decision to set roots in the safety of America and wrote home to his fiancée, asking her to join him, enclosing the necessary visa travel documents and tickets for passage.

Her parents were not thrilled letting their daughter travel halfway across the world, above all fearing for her spiritual welfare if she were to live in what has been called the Land of the Free. As the expiration dates of the travel documents neared, they decided to put the question to Rabbi Avraham Halprin, known then as the Breszhan Rov who arrived in Lemberg after the war, and got to know the family.

The parents and their young daughter made their way to the rabbi’s synagogue, arriving a couple of hours after morning prayers. The rabbi was in his study, still adorned in his Tallit and Tefillin and deep in his holy books. The family decided to sit and wait until the rabbi would emerge so they could seek his advice and blessing. But the hours passed, and the door through which he received visitors remained closed.

Suddenly they noticed one of the rabbi’s relatives, the rabbi of Laslow, Rabbi Yoel Halprin, pass by. They hurried up to him. “Please help us get an audience with the rabbi, today is the final day for us to make a decision of great importance, we must see him!” they implored.

Soon after the door opened, and they were ushered into the rabbi’s holy study. Inside they unburdened their hearts to the rabbi and spoke of their worries about sending their daughter to far-away America and all its attendant risks.

The rabbi turned to the daughter and asked, “What do you say? What would you like to do?”

“I will do whatever the Rabbi advises,” she replied.

Hearing this, the rabbi rose from his seat, “I say she should go to America. This is a woman who will maintain her spirituality at all times and in all places. With the Almighty’s help she will succeed in her marriage and raise a G-d fearing and upstanding family.”

With the rabbi’s assurance and heartfelt blessing, and their worry dissipated, they saw their daughter off to America at the port that very day.

After some time, anti-Semitism in Poland continued to increase, as was sadly predicted, and as the ravages of the Holocaust swept through their hometown, the entire family was wiped out save for the daughter and cousin who fled to the safety of America in the nick of time.

Following WWII, the rabbi of Yaslow, Rabbi Yoel Halprin, managing to escape the claw of the Nazis, made his way to America, arriving in Pittsburgh. After inquiring about kosher lodging, he was directed to a certain home that opened their doors to all travelers with grace and generosity.

Much to his surprise, the young hosts were from the very family Rabbi Yoel saw that day in the study of the Breszhan Rov, and he remembered the penetrating words of the Rabbi, “This is a woman who will maintain her spirituality at all times and in all places. With the Almighty’s help she will succeed in her marriage and raise a G-d fearing and upstanding family.”

“So, tell me,” Rabbi Yoel asked the couple, “How, indeed, were you able to stay true to our traditions in America?”

The couple shared that the first few years were indeed very challenging. Finding a livelihood that allowed one to observe the Shabbat was impossible at the time, so the husband decided to peddle various electronic wares, such as ironing equipment, door-to-door, and while they barely managed to scrape by, they were able to keep Shabbat properly.

As their children grew, the couple worried about appropriate Jewish schooling. Around that time, they heard about a rabbi who recently arrived from Russia proclaiming, “America is no different!” assuring immigrants that America will become a thriving place of Torah living. This turned out to be the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Issac Schneerson, who, through great miracles escaped from war-torn Warsaw to America, and though broken physically, he was radiant spiritually and immediately set about strengthening and establishing religious infrastructure throughout the major cities of America.

The dedicated couple enrolled their children in the Rebbe’s yeshivos and this is how they were able to not only survive in assimilated America but also thrive, creating endless dynasties from their steadfast faith and devotion.

Indeed, each of their children, Sarah Feigelstock, Chana Goldstein, Freida Korf, Ethel Biston, Chaya Gansburg and Yankel Winter went on to establish large families in the light and spirit of Torah, in fulfillment of the blessing that the young teenager, Hinda Golda Winter, received on that fateful day back in Europe, in the study of Rabbi Avraham Halprin, the Breszhan Rov.

This article was first published in the COLlive Magazine – Shvat 5780 edition, distributed free to Crown Heights residents. Look out for your free copy in local stores and restaurants.