Resurrection of the Dead in Vizhnitz

Resurrection of the Dead in Vizhnitz

Yesterday tens of thousands of men attended the massive funeral of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe zt”l who was eulogized as “the one who lifted up the Vizhnitz dynasty from the ashes of the Holocaust and rebuilt it here in the Land of Israel,” in the words of Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.

And it’s true. Since the Shoah, the Rebbe truly accomplished Techiyat Hamatim, the resurrection of the dead, transforming a decimated and limping Chassidut into one of the largest and and most influential Chassidic groups in the world.

And, ironically, the photos of the rebbe’s funeral provide us with an excellent glimpse of this historic Techiyat Hamatim. Transformed from a handful of Vizhnitzer Holocaust survivors a few decades ago to 10s of 1000s of Vizhnitzer Chassidim…In the merit of the Rebbe’s vision and leadership.

And also, we should not forget, in the merit of the self-sacrifice and determination of the Vizhnitzer women.

Being pregnant is difficult, giving birth is difficult, raising children is difficult. So when we look at these crowds of Chassidim, when we look at this resurrection of the dead, we should also bow our heads in respect to the mother of every single one of these Chassidim.

Behind every Chassid is a woman feeling sick and nauseated through her first trimester, and feeling heavy and sore and heartburned through her last, and feeling the excruciating pain of labor and the sleepless nights and postpartum funk of those first few months of life.

We will not witness the ultimate resurrection of the dead until Moshiach himself will come to raise the deceased from their graves.

And until then, under the direction and guidance of our spiritual leaders, it is only the JewishMOMs who can make Techiyat Hamatim take place speedily and in our days.

3 comments

  1. beautiful. exactly what I needed to read…thanks for posting

  2. Just one quibble – I felt that you were uncharacteristically negative about pregnancy and childbirth. Not all women feel so bad when they are pregnant, some labours are relatively easy and raising children isn’t always hard… It would be a shame for an article praising the Viznitz women (and in fact all those women who are responsible for the tremendous resurgence of Jewry after the Holocaust) to potentially deter other women from having babies.

  3. sheva lazaros

    Mrs belogski….I agree with you. There are boruch Hashem lots of women who have had uneventful pregnancies and easy deliveries. This was the case with the women in mizrayim who gave birth easily to multiples,all healthy and strong. We must encourage Jewish moms. Every baby born brings us closer to geulah.

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