Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Raichik: Shadar, Holocaust survivor, Ahavas Yisrael

davik was born in mil milava Pand about 199 and he was born into a am family famous Sim has a Rel connection to to to alander but with its own Nuance particularly in davening davening uh with a great kavana and slow and all that he ended up in the Yesa in the I happened to visit the building years ago the building was still standing the Germans Yak used it as a Munitions uh storage area during the Holocaust in the beginning of the Holocaust in 1939 and um became an exemplary he excelled in AAS Hashem in service of God through great focus and concentration during daving study of alud and amongst the the Polish that became leiters during the 20s and 30s first was in in wara and then in 1935 it moved over to atot the countryside uh he was probably the star of All Stars him and Rabbi tenam everyone is beloved everyone is Holy but these individuals were real and I knew of a righta personally later I became relatives with his family his brother-in-laws my dear his son Shalom right in gburg Maryland so I saw him up close when we were sentus 1981 to Los Angeles from the Yeshiva maristan as older students rabinal students he was our official mashia and I tried getting information out of him to hear what he heard from his mash the mashia in in the Yesa there was rabor fedman known as known as rabor poer who I believe had learned in laich didn't talk much he didn't he didn't just throw around his words so you had to kind of you know get it out of him a v here aart there he was an amazing person because I remember when he spoke about Mi yudi the the terrible decree of who is a Jew to to an know the n as the you know spoke about how how it pertains to the acceptance of um immigrants into to Israel and when he got up to speak about it and he was charged by to do that at EV almost every opportunity when he spoke in public and those years in the 70s and 80s he he he he was like fire he turned you know red and he he would like raise his voice it was very interesting to see this kind of humble person low-key person come out and just you know really really was animated you could see that the rebba in him was fire when he came here when they survived the war the Polish students from the Yesa in Shanghai Shanghai and they made it to to America some went to Canada he went came to New York he wrote a letter to the he said I didn't have a chance to learn even though I was in Yeshiva but he was in like the treasur I think of uh what was going on over there for on behalf of the Yeshiva and Shanghai and uh you know the best years of learning he he was busy with with other things even though he was of course in the Yesa and and what does he do after he came I think in 1947 46 or 47 and 1949 he he appointed him as a shadar as an as an official Emissary a messenger on behalf of the and that was his position to the West Coast of America was California Nevada Seattle Washington Etc Washington State and he went around and he built mikas all over when I was building a mik from Marin County in late 80s early 90s I went over to reab Weiss who was a generous person a philanthropist who lived in Los Angeles and he was so close with RAB raichik he like considered RAB raichik his his second reab besides the reab was RAB raichik and I asked him to to support our mikah so he took me over right in he took me over right in and he how much should we give him looks up you know he like confronting him with me standing there I don't recall what he told him but he gave me a very nice donation for the mikah so they had this I guess also Zulan relationship businessman and Rabbi relationship where wise funded mikas wherever RAB raichik wanted a Mikvah and felt it was important he he he was a a ye that had a he literally loved another ye he was traveling a lot on behalf of America's raising funds and he took so little he took he was given such a little commission never complained and just did what he needed to do when he was in LA he would you know learn and Dav and 1 2 o00 when he finished up everything every day every day he would D and learn for hours he would then eat something and go out and he would go out on Fairfax Avenue and he would put on filling with people then he would go to the bank to cover the bank for whatever the issues were it was really a dgma sem an example of a yeid who was completely devoted for the for God Almighty Amic truly truly such an individual and he didn't have nepotism you know you know he didn't say oh I'm I Mr amus I came here in 1949 raber Cuna came in 1965 he was under me I'll tell him what to do and I'll you know and I'll put my own kids into um positions nothing nothing you know why because he was selfless it wasn't he was the boss he was an employee of medic he was a for the he was a Shad the selflessness that we saw on this individual was real real contagious I had the honor and the Merit of having him in my house together with menas and to see him just stand there close up front you know at my dining room wall it was amazing you know before he did the beginning of the you say there's one line God please open my lips and my lips will say your praise it took him at least a minute probably to say it I have it on a video see how that opening line was the Prelude to the to the to the amid to the blessings to to the requests God you have to open my lips I observed this it was very interesting cuz I I never saw someone who took so much time for for that one line of six words or so there's much more to say about what R raichik did he knew everyone in La I'm told he knew every street he didn't drive a car himself but he he to told everyone what shortcuts to take and this was before there was a GPS system way before he had a a special special relationship with the Reb you can see on videos how he how he talks to the Reb with such b and how the Reb with such humility and how the Reb responds it was um someone that definitely went it's not just for his children and grandchildren grandchildren to learn from him to emulate him but it's for for all for all Jews for that matter but particularly for all them to do it as well and may we follow in his ways which are the ways of following our leaders