For the week ending 22 December 2007 / 13 Tevet 5768
Clothes for the Maid
The home of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski in Vilna was the haven of hundreds of Roshei Yeshiva and their students when the Nazi menace threatened them at the outbreak of World War Two. This Torah giant offered compassion, counsel and financial assistance to those fleeing from the terror of war.
His selfless dedication, day and night, to everyone who came to him so impressed the director of the local office of the Joint Distribution Committee that he offered to grant him any request in appreciation of his public service.
The rabbi's reply was that his poor maid's clothes were worn out and she could not afford to buy new ones. "If you really want to do something for me," he said, "see to it that some new clothes are provided for her."