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Once on Simkhes Toyre before dancing the circuits with the Torah scrolls, the Apter Rebi, the master “Ohev Yisroel”, sat apart in his room by himself and the hasidim waited in the study-house for the Rebi to come in and join the circuits.

It was already very late and the Rebi was not coming in. The hasidim did not know what to think. Suddenly the door opened and the servant came out of the Rebi's room by himself and asked, “Is Berl the wagon-driver here?”

Berl the wagon-driver crept out from behind the heating oven and the servant said, “The Rebi wants to see you.”

The servant went back to the Rebi and lingered there for a while, and soon the door opened and the Apter Rebi came out of his room by himself and walked up to the cantor's stand. He called up Berl the wagon-driver and asked him, “Berl, what did you learn last summer in the chapter of the Mishne al tehi dan?”

Berl the wagon-driver riffled the pages of the prayerbook. He found the Mishne chapter and began to recite “al tehi dan yehudi” (instead of “yehidi” he read it as “yehudi”) and he translated it into Yiddish: “You may not judge any Jews yourself, because only the Eternal One has the right to judge a Jew.”

The Apter Rov burst into a smile. Great joy flowed across his holy countenance, and he began to recite “ata haroyes” and then he made the circuits with much joy.

After the circuits the Apter Rebi said that in heaven there had been a big denunciation because a court had

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passed a sentence that the Jews who lived in the villages were not practicing properly as they should for the Days of Awe. They were making up their own prayer groups and did not want to come into the town for the Days of Awe. There was much unrest in heaven. And they wanted to issue an order in heaven that all the Jews must leave the villages, that the princes would drive out the Jewish tenant farmers and tavern-keepers from the villages. The Apter Rebi stubbornly maintained that he could not go to make the circuits until he had shouted down the order. He argued before the heavenly court that the rabonim did not have the right to issue a court verdict on Jews and he called in Berl the wagon-driver for help.

That is how the Apter Rebi, the “Master Ohev Yisroel” called up Berl the wagon-driver to translate again the Mishe “al tehi dan yehidi” – and with the error that Berl the wagon-driver made, he rescued the village Jews from a decree.

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What I am going to tell you happened some fifty years ago. One hot summer day my mother may she rest in peace promised me that if I wanted to, she would take me with her to Apt for the yortsayt of the great Rebi Rov Mayer'l of blessed memory. She woke me very early the next morning and first of all told me to recite “moyde ani” and said that today we would fast, and I would have time to pray along the way.

To my naive question “Why do we have to fast on an ordinary day?”, she replied seriously that for the holy saint one must come light and pure and without blemish. It was a considerable journey from our little town to Apt. Along the way we saw masses of Jews from the surrounding villages walking in the same direction with their own packs of worries. When we finally arrived in Apt after many hours, there was already a large crowd gathered in the holy place, many of them physically and spiritually crippled, tattered, half-naked and barefoot.

All of them were united in the same bitter fate: illnesses, difficulties in livelihood, having daughters to marry, tuitions to pay, sons being conscripted into the military, more and more heavy worries that knew no limit.

The heartrending weeping and lamenting could split the heavens. The structure over the grave of the holy saint was filled with a mountain of kvitlekh [petitions] into which were poured all the pain of generations of Jewish suffering and troubles. As young as I was then the experience made a deep impression on me, so that the image remains always fresh and clear in my eyes as if it had just happened yesterday.

The belief that the holy saint would intervene in heaven for all these who wept and begged so fervently filled everyone with a new faith, that their hard and bitter life would be transformed into a life of joy and happiness.

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The Rebi Mayer Apter had a way that he always prepared his hasidim for a joyous occasion.

One time on the eve of Yon-kiper, the rebi came into the study house and said to the hasidim: “Let's appease the Torah. We have promised that we will appease the mitsves of the Torah, and for the whole year we humiliate the Torah, so we must appease her!”

The Jews began to weep and repent.

The Rebi Rov Mayer'l Apter went back into his chamber alone, and two hours later came back into the study-house and said, “Jews, this is not the way I meant. I meant that we should do penance with joy!•

And the Apter Rebi began to sing “Ha'adres v'h'enume l'khay olamim” and all the Jews burst into song together and danced, and only after that did the Apter Rebi begin to sing “Kol Nidre”.

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One of the most important events that occupied a very prominent place in our town's life and that was repeated every year, was the yortsayt of the Rebi Rov Mayer'l of blessed memory. Then, Jews traveled from all the surrounding areas to gather in Apt: merchants, estate managers from the princely villages around Apt and especially beggars of every kind, from the Russian territory and even from Austria. Each with his longing in his heart, some to pray for a livelihood, some for a sick patient God forbid, many for a good marriage match for a daughter on some lucky day, and others for an heir, after 120 years, or even just a single son.

And then a new livelihood developed in the town: Writing kvitlekh [petitions] to the holy Rebi may he rest in peace. Every elementary teacher, or teacher, who could just write in Hebrew set up a table in the middle of the Shul Street and with the help of one of his pupils, began writing kvitkekh for the traveling stranger guests. The entire street from the shul to the “Ha'Kodesh” by the study-house was changed into a big office under the open sky.

I remember the elementary teacher Issakhar, under whom my brother and I studied. He was so busy in the season that he took in my brother Meylekh Yosef to help him. In the line-up of the “scribes” one found: the then-modern teacher Asher “calf” (he even taught girls), the elementary teacher Yome Shloyme's, Mendl Lerer and even Shmuel Mayer Grakher.

The yortsayt falls on the 25th of Tamuz. From early in the morning Jews were moving en mass in the direction of the cemetery, to the monument of the saint located by the entrance, on the right side of the gate. Within a matter of hours, the grave of the Rebi was covered with the kvitlekh and requests from so many Jewish men and women who had come from afar especially for this purpose. Since there were two other holy graves inside the ohel – those of Rov Yekele and Rov Shmuelekhl – people also threw them kvitlekh, pleading and weeping. The ohel – which was lit by large old oil lamps that were hung from the ceiling and which served as memorial candles – made a strong impression on that day.

Getting up to the monument was not an easy thing. Poor people were standing on both sides of the entrance and tearing their clothes; along with the incoming guests were also paupers from all corners of the land, who regarded this as seasonal work. Indeed, all the visitors to the holy grave came out with “clean” hands.

The town was busy with the yortsayt events for several days.

Among the many old legends about rabbis and hasidim that pass from generation to generation, the following event is told about the Rebi Yisroel Bal-Shem-Tov and Rov Shabsay Aynbinder of Apt.

In the old Apt Jewish cemetery, hard by the wall of the holy “ohel” of Rebi Rov Mayer'l and other Apter rabonim may they rest in peace, stands a small, simple gravestone on which is etched just a name, Rov Shabsay Kharif. Rov Shabsayle Aynbinder tells this about that grave:

In the court of the Bal-Shem-Tov there were, as usual, hasidim who traveled for Shabes and yontiv, from near and far, to take part in the Rebi's table and thirstily and intentionally swallow up the Torah and wisdom that flowed from the Rebi's mouth during the meal, between one dish and another. Then the following happened:

On a certain Friday evening the Rebi was conducting his table. Around him was a large audience of Hasidim

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and householders from the town. All of them pressed closer to the Rebi, wanting, as ever, to hear something.

When the Bal-Shem-Tov finished singing Sholem Aleykhem, making kidush, and they were passing around the fish, the Rebi suddenly started to laugh. When the time came for the next part of the meal, the soup with meat, the Rebi once again started to laugh loudly. The large crowd, pressed closely together around the table, was amazed. Such a thing had never happened. There was no one in the big crowd who would dare to ask the Bal-Shem-Tov what his laughter signified.

When it was already motsi-shabes, after havdole, the beloved pupil and hasid Reb Volf Kamtsis approached and asked the Rebi the significance of his laughter during the table service on Friday evening.

Instead of answering the question from his beloved pupil, the holy Bal-Shem-Tov just said to him that after “malve malke” he should harness his horses to his wagon and also take along his famous pupil Reb Dovid Mikaleyander and without speaking, travel off somewhere.

The Bal-Shem-Tov and his two pupils traveled off and had a supernatural ability to travel almost instantaneously. After a whole night of travel, they arrived on Sunday morning in Apt.

In Apt it was quickly realized that the holy Bal-Shem-Tov had arrived unannounced. All the householders of the town came to welcome him, and the president of the shul invited the Bal-Shem-Tov to lodge with. him.

The Bal-Shem-Tov did not hesitate and asked for Shabsayle Aynbinder to be brought. As soon as Rov Shabsayle arrived the Rebi asked him, what had happened on the previous Friday evening.

At this sudden question Rov Shabsayle panicked in fear and cast his eyes up and down and answered the Rebi about something else. “I just did something wrong, so the Rebi can give me a penance”, he said.

“Not that”, the Rebi interrupted him. “It would be better for him to tell what happened up until then”.

Rov Shabsayle became lighter in his heart and began to tell him. He did not have any children. When he was getting older, he also got poorer. And he did not know what would happen to him, as he would not take any charity.

So last Thursday – may it not happen to any Jew – he saw that there was not even one penny left in the house to buy things for Shabes.

“That same Thursday”, Shabsayle went on, “I went out to gather up the detritus from wood – little chips and splinters – that were strewn around in the street, in order to heat the house with them. When my wife asked, I answered that you know that we have no money to make Shabes. So tomorrow morning you should heat the oven with the chips and set a couple of pots of water on the fire. From the outside, the neighbors will see the pots and think you are cooking for Shabes. In the evening you should close the shutters on the windows so they cannot see that in the house, there are no Shabes candles burning. In the morning I will go to the study-house and in the evening welcome Shabes along with the other Jews and be the last one to go home.”

“Leaving last from the study-house and approaching my house, I saw that the shutters on the window were not closed. It was light inside, candles were burning. I was stunned and for a while just stood there. I remembered the verse women have light minds”. She could not bear the temptation and she accepted charity.

I did not stop for long. I went into the house. It was light and warm. The Shabes dishes smelled good. I did not ask anything, so that the Shabes would not be disrupted, heaven forbid. I recited “Sholem Aleykhem”, made kidush over good wine and began to eat.

“When my wife brought the plate of fish, I could not contain myself and asked her to tell me the truth, why did she take charity against my will. ”

For the first minute she did not know what to answer. Then she asked me, My dear husband, we've lived together so many years, have you ever found that I did anything against your will?

“Tears came to my eyes and I could not answer her question. And she told me further: 'I had done everything you told me to do. And since I had nothing to prepare for Shabes, I began to take out the things in the chest and lay them out, so I could put them on for Shabes. Under them, I found a

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pair of gloves from the time when we were rich. You brought them then from Danzig. I had long forgotten about them. The gloves had, as you surely remember, golden buttons. I ran right out to the goldsmith and sold the gold from the forgotten gloves. With that money I made Shabes.'

“From my great joy and enthusiasm, I began dancing with my wife. I was already up to the soup and fish. My enthusiasm grew and I danced with my wife in great joy. Now I ask the holy Rebi: Is that a sin? And if so, issue me a penance.”

“Shabsayle, they know!“ the Bal-Shem-Tov told him. “When you danced with your wife, all the angels in heaven danced with you, and you can now choose what you want: Go back to being rich for your whole life, or have an only son who will illuminate the world.”

From the Bal-Shem-Tov's speech Shabsayle began to tremble hard and he lost his head and said, “I will still have a son in my life!”

And within the year Shabsayle's wife gave birth to an only son. The Rebi came to the circumcision and also held the infant on his lap. He told them to name the child Yisroel.

Reb Shabsayle's only son lived in Apt until his marriage. And what the Bal-Shem-Tov said came true: Reb Shabsayle Aynbinder's son became the Kosice Magid and illuminated the world with his genius.

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Famous in Apt and in its environs was Rov Avrom Yehoshua Heshil's – the Ohev Yisroel's – cast bar. Old hasidim relate this about that bar:

In those days demons used to grab the fur hats off the hasidim's heads and cause other trouble. Hasidim told the Ohev Yisroel about it, and he had a bar made for the study-house. The bar was a long slab of iron, about 200 kilograms, and inscribed upon it were the words Avrom Yehoshua Heshil. The word Apta could not be seen, because there was a fire in the attic and a piece of the bar melted.

As I recall, they used to take down the bar when a respected rov came to visit, who could not go up the steps. Twenty young men would go up in order to bring the bar down. We walked around the bar in great reverence. A mysteriousness pursued from it.

Unfortunately, my pen is too poor to describe our feelings when we prayed in the presence of the Ohev Yisroel's bar.

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