by Rabbi Shalom Gurewicz

My job in Kashrus takes me to Cedar Rapids, Iowa every month. Knowing that Sholom Mordechai is sitting in prison there, I applied last month to visit him. I was approved and visited him yesterday.

He was so happy to see me besides for the fact of just having a visitor, he had also been placed in solitary confinement the night before and nobody including his wife and attorney knew about it yet and he was not allowed to make calls.

My visit to Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin in Prison

by Rabbi Shalom Gurewicz

My job in Kashrus takes me to Cedar Rapids, Iowa every month. Knowing that Sholom Mordechai is sitting in prison there, I applied last month to visit him. I was approved and visited him yesterday.

He was so happy to see me besides for the fact of just having a visitor, he had also been placed in solitary confinement the night before and nobody including his wife and attorney knew about it yet and he was not allowed to make calls.

Rabbi Avrohom Blesofsky, Chabad Shliach of Iowa City, about 30 minutes away, visits him every other day. What a Mitzvah!

My zeida, Nochum Zalman Gurewicz, once took my aunt Ida to see the Lubavitcher Rebbe. She told the Rebbe that her husband Hershel was not a Chossid but a ‘finer poshuter yid’- a simple Jew (in fact he was a Yid a Talmud Chochom). The Rebbe answered her ‘un vos is a Chossid? A finer poshuter Yid!’- ‘and what is a Chossid, a fine simple Jew!’

Sholom Mordechai is a Chossid. His actions in prison had me thinking if my ‘Chassidishkeit’ and behavior in freedom is the way it should be.

While in prison, Sholom Mordechai has requested to shower every morning. He does not do this for the same reason most people shower in the morning but this was his way of going to the Mikvah before Davening. He will not Daven unless he showers first.

His toilet is in the actual cell so in order not to Daven with a toilet in the room he has taken his sheets and made a Mechitzah around the toilet. At one point when his ‘cell mate’ complained of contraband they did a search on the cell and took down his mechitzah.

He told me that in the morning when he woke up in solitary confinement he started saying Tehilim (Sholom Mordechai is known for saying the whole Tehilim daily even before prison) and then he started to cry. Immediately he stopped himself and looked up to Hashem and said what am I crying for and began laughing away and then began to sing and dance in the cell five nigunim including Nepolian’s march, a known Lubavitcher song.

He would take some of the water that was given to him to drink and save it in a bag for neglevasser. He would not watch TV even with not much else to do there. He felt that once you compromise your spiritual values it is a slippery slope downhill. All the other prisoners had to do was watch TV, he had his seforim. He said that when they didn’t watch TV they would be yelling things at each other and there were also screams of ‘there is a Jew here, kill the … Jews’. He would read a lot of Tanya which gave him Chizuk throughout the hardship to remain positive.

When he was put into solitary confinement, the small closet like room had a slab of concrete which was his bed. He looked worried how he would sleep on it without any mattress or something soft. During a small reprieve from the cell, a fellow African American from another of these solitary confinement cells screams out to him ‘hey Rabbi’! Turns out he was from Franklyn Avenue in Brooklyn which is right near Crown Heights. He told him that a small thin mattress is bought to the room from 10pm to 5am and he should not worry.

He told me the story I think of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe while he was in prison he said that at one point he felt like this was Mesechta Gehainom but it was Chelek Beis! Sholom Mordechai felt the same way now in solitary confinement.

On my way out of the prison I shared the elevator with a lawyer who looked at me and said ‘you are a Rabbi correct?’ then he said ‘that means you are Jewish.’ Then he said ‘Well I am a Christian who loves Jews’ to which I responded that we all need to love each other. I then proceeded to tell him about my visit and he was somewhat familiar with the Rubashkin story. He was shocked to hear about the way he was being treated which is horrific.

We learned a small bit of a Sicha from the Rebbe about the geula from Mitzrayim. Sholom Moredchai was pointing out and trying to understand how it could be that all the Yidden who were taken out of Mitzraim never even made it to Eretz Yisroel? It was bewildering to him.

Let us be inspired and let Hashem together with our Tefilos and all our good Hachlotos help this Chossid get out of prison and be able to continue his life as a Chossid together with his family and community in Postville who are waiting to see him again, and all of this with Moshiach Tzidkeinu NOW!!!

Rabbi Shalom Gurewicz
Chicago, IL

14 Comments

  • WOW

    WOW
    and to think the 7 nazi maschchissim
    wanted to do that to 6 jews from our community.
    with the help of the chiff ss mendy hendel shr”y

  • to WOW

    Why do you mix some stuped CH Mesiros to this case
    Both are sad tradedies for the Yidden.

    But this one is far worse and PURE Jew Hatred

    1- B“H at this time in NYC the courts are not such Jew Haters and would not put the shomrim in solitary confinement prison for life because stuped false allegations.

    2- When you call Yidden ”Naziz“ your just like those sick Jew Haters who compare (their false accusations on) Eretz Yisrael to ”Nazis”

    Have you any Idea what the Naziz have done?
    Was there ANY yid EVER did such things to slaughter an innocent group of people for no reason?

  • reader

    look at the picture, not the side issues:
    a Yid came and visited Sholom Moshe.
    Until he gets OUT, we need to give him our best.
    thats where its at

  • to WOW wrote

    The only sad thing in your comment is.
    That this Nazi maschchissim we our generation saw in court pointing at jews .
    and that was worst than the Nazi and worst than what was dune to rubashkin you know why ?
    Because sympathizers like you helped and supported this Nazi
    yes they are Nazi .
    a JEW has the Midos of Rachmonim Baishonim and Gomlei Chasodim .
    this 7 have not one of this and thy are NOT JEWS at all.
    and the hidden supporters like medy hendel shr”y and friends are just as bad.
    on people like you the novi said
    GAM EVIL MACHARISH CHOCHOM YECHOSHEV

  • Huebner

    How can someone say that one mesirah is worst than another?
    I think that if a Jew go to Moser and not only just file a complain but follow it through for 2 years.
    spend great deal of time to testify and spends so much
    money to fly people around the world for one
    purpose to hurt a Jew is the worst
    criminal offence that anyone can do .
    Yes we all daven for rubashkin and i realy belive that as the REBBE said that everything in the world is
    effected by what’s going on in Crown Heights.
    The messirah on the shomrim started 5 monthes before rubashkins raid.
    But the second mesirah on shomrim member was on may 11 and the raid in Postville was next day may 12 .
    And here I see direct connection on this 2 evil the tzoros on Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin .
    Started after the Nazi Elkon Gurfinkel went in to 71 pct together with the nazi Paul Huebner for the second time to mosser a Jew. So if you don’t belive in hashgocha protis it is your problem.
    But I see something very disturbing here.
    YOU CANNOT CONDEM ONE AND NOT THE OTHER
    YOU HAVE TO CONDEM ALL TZOROS THAT HAPPEND TO JEWS
    and no THERE IS NO TWO SIDES TO A MESIRAH.

  • rubb

    this is crazy i cant beleive it i cant…………. i……….. its hard to beleive whats happining

  • wow:(

    whats with the name calling…………especially “nazi”…you ppl sound like little children…but even they have more respect than that..

  • annonomous

    you are such a great person to go out and do that for another fellow yid! i know you are my neighbor and youv’e always been so kind thanks for giving him company!

  • a posheter yid

    Hashem should make a miracle and R. Rubaskin should be freed to rejoice with his family!!!! Amen!!!
    until then we are with you in our hearts and prayers
    may Hashem help all the yidden overcome these tremendous nisyonos – birthpangs of moshiach as The Rebbe calls it and bring Moshiach Now!!!

  • Aaron bless

    Sholem G. my brothers nephew
    Avremel B> my nephew
    it’s nice to be related to such people
    Chazak v’ematz in all your good deeds

  • Address please

    can someone please post an address where letters of chizuk can be mailed to Reb SM?

    thank you

  • Amador (Ariel) Rivera

    Can someone tell me where I can get more information and how I might be able to help.. Ariel