The Long Road Back
by Dovid Zaklikowski for Hasidic Archives
Far from the horrors of Europe, Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Raichik and a close friend, both of whom had few surviving family members, sought to rebuild their lives in the United States. The friend felt stranded, with no one to assist him even with his basic needs.
Having worked in the office of the Rebbe Rayatz in Otwock, Poland, he believed that his friends in New York would help him upon his arrival. However, they were all struggling to survive themselves. Feeling abandoned, he traveled to Los Angeles, California, in search of opportunities.
Despite his efforts, he was unsuccessful, and his friend, feeling rejected, bitterly blamed Rabbi Raichik. His resentment slowly grew to the point that he stopped speaking to Rabbi Raichik and wanted nothing to do with him.
Once, while in New York, Rabbi Raichik was summoned to the office of one of the Rebbe’s aides. The aide explained that the Rebbe had inquired about the former friend’s welfare. When Rabbi Raichik said that they had lost touch over the years, the Rebbe asked through the aide, “Vos iz mit ahavas Yisroel?” (“What about the mitzvah to love your fellow Jew?”)
Afterward, Rabbi Raichik made every effort to mend the relationship. He attended the man’s joyous occasions, whether or not he was invited. When the man was recuperating at home after an operation, Rabbi Raichik, though unwell himself, made the effort to visit him.
On another occasion, Rabbi Raichik brought him a book containing pictures of the yeshivah in Otwock, and they reminisced about their years there.
Before the wedding of his son Yossi, Rabbi Raichik asked Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky to personally invite the man to the kiddush. At the kiddush, Rabbi Bogomilsky stood up and said that everyone was united around Rabbi Raichik’s table. The man later told Rabbi Bogomilsky that he agreed with him completely.
Years later, at a farbrengen in shul, the man called Rabbi Raichik one of his best friends. Only then did Rabbi Raichik feel that his efforts had finally succeeded and that their relationship had been fully repaired.
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