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4 CROWN HEIGHTS NEWSpapER ~February 13 2009
Our Heroes
Hachossid Reb Aharon Hakohen Klein
1916- 9th of Shvat 1958
by rabbi Michoel Seligson
hachossid reb aharon klein was
born in 1916 to rabbi yitzchok
hakohen and Mrs. Perel klein,
may hashem avenge their blood, on
the 18th of Sivan in vienna. both
rabbi and Mrs. klein were from
distinguished families who traced
their origins to the illustrious torah
giants, the Chacham tzvi and the
Megale amukos among others. reb
yitzchok was a communal figure
and known in vienna for his acts of
kindness and generosity.
aharon and his seven brothers spent
their childhood in a home permeated
with torah and tzedoko. when
the winds of wwII began to blow,
aharon moved to england with the
intention of eventually settling in the
united States. This is how he came
to be spared the bitter end that befell
his family in vienna.
arrested by the British army
when england joined the war
against the Nazis, the british army
rounded up all German and German
speaking residents of england,
in order to make it more difficult
for the Germans to place spies in
england. The english did not differentiate
between the righteous
and the wicked so many German
speaking Jews were arrested as well.
The detainees were sent to a camp
under british auspices in Canada.
reb aharon, a German speaking
Jew, was also arrested.
There were no religious articles for
the Jews in the camp. reb aharon,
not a lubavitch chossid at the time,
immediately wrote to the Previous
rebbe in New york about the conditions
in the camp. In his letter reb
aharon expressed pain about the
situation of the Jews and asked for
help. The Previous rebbe responded
by dispatching religious articles.
he also wrote a letter to the famous
chossid reb Shmuel levitin, then on
a mission in Montreal, to interest and
involve himself in the plight of the
Jews in the camp and to assist them
in any way possible.
after a few months, in Nissan 1942,
the Jews were freed and reb aharon
began learning in yeshiva tomchei
tmimim in Montreal. Many of his
fellow Jews did the same and with
their entry into the yeshiva, the Previous
rebbe wrote to them, blessing
them with a double Mazal tov, for
their release and for their enrollment
in tomchei tmimim. reb aharon
was mentioned in one of the Previous
rebbe’s letters in regards to his
activities at this time.
after a few years of studying in the
yeshiva, reb aharon married Miss
Zisel, the daughter of hachossid
reb tzvi hirsh Spielman, a chossid
who was close to the Munkatcher
rebbe, the Minchas elozor, and
one of the distinguished chassidim
in Munkatch in the generation prior
to wwII. after the wedding, the
couple remained in Montreal for a
few years and then settled in Crown
heights.
The Golden Menorah
This is when a period began in the
life of this young family, rich in
a growing relationship with bais
horav. The kleins were one of the
few chassidishe families in Crown
heights. a unique bond between
reb aharon and the rebbe was
established.
reb aharon was blessed with sincerity
and simplicity, and being close to
the rebbe, decided to give the rebbe
a special gift. During one of his trips
he saw a menorah made of pure gold.
It was glistening and was magnificent
and a beautiful religious article. reb
aharon took a photograph of the
menorah and went to a goldsmith
and commissioned a custom made
menorah based on the original. The
goldsmith told reb aharon that he
had four weeks to complete payment
otherwise the menorah would be
disassembled and he would lose his
deposit of $10,000.
reb aharon requested a grace
period of six months to pay in full.
The goldsmith refused and reb
aharon told him with his typical
firmness, “you are playing with fire!
This menorah is for the lubavitcher
rebbe!” The goldsmith held firm and
did not want to agree to the deal. a
day later, an event took place which
forced the goldsmith to leave his
position and reb aharon was able
to come to an agreement with the
company.
The menorah was
composed of 115
gold pieces and
was 24 inches
high. reb aharon
instructed
that the following
verse should be
engraved on the
menorah, “Orachti
Ner l’mshichi-yud
alef Nissan 5736,
Nesie yisroel”, I
prepared a candle
for my anointed,
the 11th of Nissan
1976, the leader of
Jews.
On Friday afternoon,
prior to
Shabbos Nachamu
1976, reb
aharon delivered
the menorah to
the rebbe’s house.
he was greeted
by the rebbetzin, they exchanged
greetings, and then reb aharon
showed her the menorah.
after he removed the wrapping and
the menorah was fully displayed,
the rebbetzin couldn’t hide her
excitement at its unique beauty.
She asked him “In how much debt
are you as a result of this gift?”reb
aharon responded, “when one
purchases a gift for the rebbe, they
are particular that the silver should
be clean and pure, and not blemished
with debt.”
when the rebbetzin asked how
much the menorah cost, reb aharon
refused to answer. It was later
revealed that the gold used for
the menorah was worth twentythousand
dollars. The rebbetzin
asked if reb aharon also had such
a menorah. he responded that many
years earlier, he bought a menorah
on the lower east Side in Manhattan
for six dollar and that was sufficient
for him but a king needs a golden
menorah. The rebbetzin ordered a
special table on which to place the
menorah. In addition, reb aharon
also gave the rebbe a pure gold cup
for kiddush
“Yes, I know”
The connection and relationship
between reb aharon and bais
horav, the rebbe and his family,
resulted in a relationship between
the klein family and the rebbe’s
mother, the rebbetzin Chana. On
one occasion, reb aharon asked
rebbetzin Chana, if she was aware
that she had a unique son, and that
there was no such a person as he in
all the generations. The rebbetzin
responded with her customary
simplicity, “yes, I know.”
Mrs. klein was one of the directors
of the bikur Cholim of Crown
heights and was involved in all the
tzedoko activities in the neighborhood
and in communal affairs. She
was a beautician as well, and had a
shaitel business, and the rebbetzin
Chana would use her services.
Colel Chabad and Charity
Deeds
In 1944, reb aharon became
involved in the charitable institution
Colel Chabad supporting
families in Israel. In a letter to the
Mashpia horav hachossid reb Zev
Greenglass, the Previous rebbe
wrote regarding reb aharon’s
efforts for Colel Chabad, “hashem
should assist him in his physical and
spiritual needs.”
Over the course of many years,
without receiving any salary or
compensation reb aharon served as
the gabai, treasurer of Colel Chabad.
even in his eighties, he would make
his rounds by train and bus all over
New york to raise funds on behalf
of Colel Chabad.
In an unusual moment, reb aharon
told one of his grandsons that he
had managed to raise millions of
dollars. During the shiva after reb
aharon’s passing, a Crown heights
resident who once owned a shoe
store spoke to the family about reb
aharon’s devotion. reb aharon
once approached the store owner
before Pesach and he and wanted to
buy shoes for families who urgently
needed them. when the owner asked
for sizes, reb aharon gave him a long
list that was committed to memory.
This was an example of how reb
aharon was concerns about people,
down to the smallest detail.
advent
Celebrating the 150th Jubilee
The summer of 1962, preparing for
the advent of the 150th jubilee of the
histalkus of the alter rebbe in early
1813 on the 24th of teves; during a
yechidus reb aharon contributed
$150 to the rebbe and suggested
that a magbis, an appeal, in honor of
the jubilee be made. at the Farbrengen
on the 18th elul marking the
alter rebbe’s birthday, the rebbe
initiated a campaign to study torah
and contribute tzedoko in amounts
corresponding to 150.
This Farbrengen actually marked the
beginning of an entire year of events,
and the rebbe mentioned that this
project came as an awakening on the
part of chassidim.
The Mitzva Bus
a number of years before Mivtza