The Rabbi of Oshpitzin (Oswiecim)

A first impression of a city and its characters

By: Yaakov Rosenfeld

After the publication of the article (see here) about the great and righteous man of Komarno, Rabbi Baruch Safrin z”l, who was killed on Shavuot, we were inundated with many emotional responses, which led us to reexamine the history of this miraculous righteous man. On the one hand, we feel satisfaction from the very fact that we are elevating great figures from forgotten worlds, and on the other hand, we cannot rest on our laurels as long as there are so many names of great and righteous people who sanctified the Name of Heavens and were forgotten in the abyss. Thus we come to the name and memory of the great and holy Rabbi Eliyahu Bombach, a rabbi and teacher, shepherd and leader, a follower and worshiper of G-d, who was slaughtered along with his family in the years of evil. Rabbi Bombach, the last rabbi of Oshpitzin (Oswiecim in Polish, Auschwitz in German), was a miraculous man who meritted to sanctify the Name of Heaven until his soul ascended, pure and purified, to Heaven, under the Throne of Glory (G-d’s metaphorical throne), together with millions of holy and pure Jews who are in “the exalted spheres of the holy and pure, who shine as the resplendence of the firmament,” as it says in the known prayer, Kel Maleh Rachamim (G-d Full of Mercy).

Eighty years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and it seems that there is nothing good about mentioning the name of this city; it just brings back terrible memories of blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. However, Oshpitzen was a chassidic city full of righteous men and chassidim, G-d-fearing and wholesome Jews, children, and righteous women. Oshpitzen was a city surrounded by Torah, fear of G-d, and a pure chassidic Jewish life, and now, eighty years later, in direct connection with the previous article, a story is told about Rabbi Bombach, who was the father-in-law of Rabbi Baruch of Komarno, and also a loyal chassid. Rabbi Bombach completely submitted himself to the leadership of his son-in-law and made several trips to his court every year, did not want to receive any honours there in the holy court, but rather huddled like one of the chassidic Jews in his shadow and drew the Divine spirit from his person and words..

Who was Rabbi Eliyahu Bombach, and what was his connection to the Komarno chassidic court?

A Child Prodigy

In 5644 (1883), on the second day of Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan, a miracle child was born in the Drohobych community, to the genius Rabbi Yehoshua Pinchas Bombach, one of the greatest rabbis of the generation and author of the Responsa Ohel Yehoshua, and his rebbetzin.

We wrote “child prodigy,” and not without reason, since it is well-known that when he was just a few months old he knew how to recite complete verses, and at the age of six or seven, after exhausting the teacher who had been hired for him, he was already sitting in the genius lessons of his rabbi father, which only particularly outstanding young men were allowed to participate in.

As a small child, he fell ill and was on the verge of death, and the best doctors despaired of his life. At that time, his father vowed to educate the child in Torah and “by the power of the prayer of Israel, the Holy One, Blessed Be He, sent His help in the merit of our forefathers, and to respect them adn with the strength I received, I will teach their children “… (his father’s words in the introduction to his book).

An example of his genius in his childhood is given in the introduction to his father’s book of responsa. When he was six years old, he would already make his own kiddush on wine on Shabbat night, because that was how his father had raised him. Once there was not enough wine for him, and his father told him that this time he would fulfill his own obligation through his son’s kiddush.

He prepared the sermon for his Bar Mitzvah himself, and it made waves in the Torah synagogues throughout that region. At the Bar Mitzvah feast, genius and righteous men sat, including the genius Rabbi Yitzchak Leib Sofer, son of the Ktav Sofer, and listened to the wonderful “composition” that the boy had prepared himself. The sermon consisted of twenty-six parts, all of which were united and connected as one and woven into a wonderful bond of genius and expertise that was not found anywhere else.

At the request of many Torah scholars in Galicia and its surroundings, the sermon was printed in a special book called “Ma’aneh Eliyahu,” and the book, according to what is written in the introduction to his father’s responsa, seemed to have been snatched up and was no longer available within a short time. His father, the genius, encouraged the publication of the work, at the recommendation of Rabbi Yosef of Yavoriv, for two reasons: first, to encourage the boy to put himself into the work of writing Torah thoughts, and also to arouse the envy of writers among his peers, who would also challenge themselves in writing Torah thoughts and commentaries.

In the introduction to “Ma’aneh Eliyahu,” the Rabbi of Oshpitzin (senior) writes with great admiration for the magnitude of his son’s genius and expertise, and emphasizes the fact that there is no question of pride or rudeness here, because his son is gentle and avoids publicity. The father emphasizes his goal in printing and distributing the work and expresses hope that the author will publish additional books in the future. Indeed, Rabbi Eliyahu, in his youth, wrote a brilliant work on Tractate Makot, but he did not have time to print it and the manuscript was lost in the Holocaust.

The name of the prodigy became famous throughout the region, and at a young age he became engaged to the daughter of the holy Rebbe of Komarno, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe, son of the great Rabbi Eliezer Zvi and grandson of the founder of the dynasty, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac, author of “Heichal HaBracha”.

Early Years in Komarno

In that same episode, Rabbi Eliyahu moved to Komarno, near his father-in-law.

According to testimonies, this period was the golden age of Rabbi Eliyahu. The Rabbi of Komarno loved him with all his heart, and there was no limit to their closeness. Significant expressions from the Rebbe’s mouth regarding his young son-in-law were preserved in the archives of chassidim, and these, connoisseurs of taste and thirst for knowledge (of Torah), would constantly surround Rabbi Eliyahu, seeking Torah and chassidim from him and enjoying the splendour of his Torah thoughts and his holy work. His evening prayer had a special charm. Chassidim and influential men had the intelligence to observe it and learn from it. There was something to look at and hear when Rabbi Eliyahu prayed.

His prayer was a mixture of restrained enthusiasm and the sweetness of paradise. It was full of longing and yearning “like a son who repents before his father.” His musical power was also great, and mournful sounds poured from his mouth and enchanted the chassidim who enjoyed every syllable and movement.

For several years, Rabbi Eliyahu served in Komarno at the court of his father-in-law, until he was called to serve as the rabbi of a modest and pious town called “Kenty”, near Bielitz, now Bielsko-Biala. (In Polish, the name of the town is “Kety”, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%99ty).

Excerpt from the newspaper “Machzikei HaDat” at the time of Rabbi Eliyahu’s appointment as rabbi of the city of Kenty

And when his great and holy father, the Rabbi of Oshpitzen, Rabbi Yehoshua Pinchas Bombach, passed away, he was appointed to serve in his place and sit on his throne.

The newspaper HaPardes (Sivan 5681/1921) recounts the events surrounding his father’s passing and his appointment as Rabbi of the city of Oshpitzin:

A Flood of Tears

On the 28th of Nisan 5681 (1921), “the angels triumphed over the righteous, and the sacred ark was captured” (Ketubot 104a), and the banner of the wise and intelligent passed away, the distinguished genius rabbi, a model of our generation, wonderfully sharp and witty, with exceptional analytical skills, an exhaulted righteous man (…).

Today we lost a genius and a righteous man, the Rabbi the genius, our master, our teacher, and our rabbi, Rabbi Yehoshua Pinchas, z”l, by whose light many walked…the great man of the Torah.

With the large breakage, we have a sliver of comfort that the Oswiecim community bestowed the crown of rabbinate upon its son, the extremely sharp and pious Rabbi Eliyahu Bombach, our teacher, who was the Av Beit Din (head of the rabbinical court) of the city of Kenty, son-in-law of the holy righteous Rebbe of Komarno. Whose name from his childhood was renowned for its wonderful glory…

The Rabbi of Oswiecim

Immediately after his appointment, the genius Rabbi Eliyahu Bombach opened a yeshiva in Oshpitzen and invested his best efforts and energy in it. Oshpitzen, which was a city full of chassidim, scholars, and G-d-fearing people, was satisfied with the work of the new rabbi, who did not rest on his laurels but rather laboured to leave a mark of exaltation and greatness on his many students and on the Jews of the city, who saw in him a unique figure of a faithful shepherd and guide to his congregation and to all of the Jewish People. The yeshiva was a great success, and the rabbi gave theoretical and brilliant lessons there every day. The city very quickly became a living and vibrant place of Torah.

The name of the rabbi of Oswiecim became well known, and even those who were not Jewish knew how to respect and admire the miraculous figure who expressed greatness of spirit, charitable qualities, and rare leadership power. What is most amazing about the character of the rabbi is the fact that he continued to be a loyal Komarno chassid, and would make trips to his father-in-law, the Rebbe, and would huddle in his shadow as one of the chassidim. And while he was in the holy chassidic court, he did not agree to receive any honour and appreciation befitting his high value. His leadership was characterized with a touch of chassidism from prior generations, very humble, and as one of the rabbinical decisors of the generation, many questions, some of them weighty, were addressed to him and he was considered one of the greatest respondents; although he adapted for himself the leadership of a “yirei horaah” (one who is G-d fearing, very knowledgeable, and can give answers in Jewish law), and due to the great fear of G-d that burned in him, was reluctant to take responsibility for difficult matters – all of the Jewish People has a “sense of smell” and many trusted the power of his Torah and judgment, and yet he continued to act as a faithful chassid who traveled to his rabbi and benefited from his advice and resourcefulness.

According to testimonies, even rabbis of cities and communities would consult him on substantive matters and send him complex questions. A clear line of thought, knowledge of all parts of the Torah, and his strength in comparing issues to come up with solutions to difficult matters, all placed him at the forefront of Torah scholars and halachic decisors in Galicia, and not only there.

Rabbi Eliyahu was a gracious speaker. When he gave a eulogy, everyone was moved to tears. When he eulogized the genius Rabbi Meir Arik, the great genius of Galicia (in 5687/1926-7), his words made a huge impression and many quoted them with admiration.

Rabbi Eliyahu was highly regarded, and therefore, his rabbi and brother-in-law, the great Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom of Komarno, arranged a marriage with him, and the marriage became a landmark in the history of chassidism. Rabbi Baruch, the Rebbe’s son, about whom we wrote in our article on the eve of Shavuot, was the son-in-law of Rabbi Eliyahu Bombach, the rabbi of Oshpitzin.

And when the lights dimmed and the holy Rebbe of Komarno passed away at his height, and his twenty-four-year-old son, Rabbi Baruch, was crowned as the Rebbe of Komarno, his father-in-law, Rabbi Eliyahu, continued to act as a faithful chassid and would make trips to Komarno, to bask in the shadow of his rabbi and son-in-law…

(To clarify, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Safrin was Rabbi Eliyahu Bombach’s father-in-law and the Komarno Rebbe. Rabbi Shalom Safrin, the son of Rabbi Yaakov Moshe and brother-in-law of Rabbi Eliyahu, became a later Komarno Rebbe. Rabbi Bombach’s daughter married Rabbi Baruch Safrin, her cousin, son of Rabbi Shalom, and also a Komarno Rebbe.)

It was a lofty sight that had much novelty. Chassidim and influential, as well as budding chassidim, would observe the degree of humility and self-denial of the revered rabbi, son-in-law of the old Rebbe of Komarno, brother-in-law of the recently deceased Rebbe, and father-in-law of the young Rebbe, as he frequently came to the holy place. On holidays and festivals, he would regularly travel to the holy place of his son-in-law, and like one of the chassidim, he would sit in a corner and gaze at the figure of his son-in-law, the Rebbe, with burning, blazing eyes and a heart full of chassidic enthusiasm. This leadership of his was a symbol and a model for the chassidim of Komarno.

The Rebbe, for his part, would go out of his way to honour his father-in-law, the Rabbi of Oshpitzin, and for example, on holidays, he would ask him to pass in front of the Ark during the Musaf prayer, but the Rabbi of Oshpitzin renounced all formalities of respect and admiration and preferred to be in Komarno as an equal among equals.

Survivors from Oshpitzen remember the visit to their town of the Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Bentzion Halberstam, may G-d avenge his blood. After visiting the genius Rabbi Eliyahu at his home and talking with him at length about Torah and current affairs, the Bobover Rebbe spoke highly and eloquently of the rabbi of the city. They recounted with longing that when the townspeople set out to escort the Bobover Rebbe to the train station, the humble rabbi joined the accompanying chassidim and accompanied the Rebbe as one of his own. Suddenly, the Rebbe noticed this and stopped. He asked the rabbi to sit next to him on the cart, and together they talked pleasantly. This sight would torment the memory of the survivors from Oshpitzen. Many years after the Holocaust, they would speak of it with tears in their eyes. This sight of the greatest Rebbe in Galicia sitting side by side with the revered Rabbi, who was young in years but a giant in the Torah, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of chassidim, students and admirers, expressed in their eyes the glory of Galician Jewry that was destroyed in the days of wrath.

It was a picture of majesty and splendour, the honour of the Torah and the splendour of chassidism. A tender memory of beautiful times that passed and are no more.

During the Holocaust, Rabbi Eliyahu suffered bitterly. His seven children perished in the Valley of Killing: his eldest daughter, the Rebbetzin of Komarno; his son Rabbi Shmuel, a rabbi in the suburbs of Oshpitzen, and the Bedzin Rebbe (son-in-law of the Rebbe of Dzialoszyce); his two daughters, one married to Rabbi Shmelke, son of the Rebbe, Rabbi Alter of Gora-Kalwaria, and the other married to Rabbi Yosef, the young rabbi of Bluzow.

His two single sons, Yosef and Yitzchak Isaac, also perished at the hands of the Nazis.

When the Nazis chose Oshpitzen as the place of the terrible killing, Rabbi Eliyahu fled to Sosnowiec, but was soon returned there by train. At that moment, on the train traveling to its final destination, the rabbi strengthened the hearts of the Jews who surrounded him with words of faith and confidence, and proclaimed several times in a loud and awesome voice: “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad” (Hear Oh Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One).

The rabbi of Oshpitzen was killed sanctifying the Name of G-d on Lag BaOmer 5703 (May 1943), may G-d avenge his blood.

A Jew puts on tefillin (phylacteries) in the renovated “Chevras Mishnayos” synagogue in Oshpiztin

The terrible Holocaust destroyed Oshpitzen and turned it into a heap of destruction. When the writer M. Tzanin visited the ruined Oswiecim in 1946, which, according to him, contained fifteen thousand Jews before the Holocaust, he broke down and wrote what was on his mind, and this is part of his words (with editorial changes):

“The name of the city in Yiddish was Oshpitzen, it served as a center for kosher Jewish life. The city is a few kilometers away from the extermination camp; about forty kilometers west of Krakow…”

“With its liquidation, the city became like an extinct volcano. It lost its commercial rhythm. The Jews with beards and wigs, white stockings and shtreimels were the blood there, the streets – the arteries, and the city the body. After the bloodshed, the city died. The Poles walking around the city, who took over the shops and Jewish trade, appear as shadows of the real figures and they, the shadows, manage, so to speak, to trade.”

Tzanin ends his impression of Oshpitzin and its neighbors, Chrzanów and Brzesko, with sadness:

“In these towns, towns of piety and deep-rooted Judaism, there is now no one who would have the power to ignite the few sparks so that a fiery and vibrant life could arise here and renew their days as before.”

This is the closing chord of Oshpitzen, a Jewish town whose residents for four hundred years were mostly chassidim and influential men, followers of the Torah and G-d-fearers.

Oshpitzen, the Jewish name for Oswiecim, was a major Jewish community. Some historians have claimed that the name Oshpitzen comes from “Ushpizin,” meaning “guests” in Aramaic.

Next week, we will G-d willing present here the beginning chapters of the history of the city of Oshpitzen and its Jews, and a concise overview of its events during the Holocaust.