Auction 117 Special sale for the upcoming high holidays
By Winner'S
Sep 16, 2019
3 Shatner Center 1st Floor Givat Shaul Jerusalem, Israel

Chabad, Amulets and Belongings of Tzaddikim, Kabala & Chassidic books, Slavuta and Zhitomir Prints, Manuscripts and Letters from Rabbis

The auction has ended

LOT 79:

Straw from Yom Kippur and Aravah Leaves from the Aravah-Beating by the Admo"r Rabbi Aharon of Belz. Double ...

Sold for: $800
Start price:
$ 500
Estimated price :
$2,000 - $4,000
Buyer's Premium: 22%
VAT: 17% On commission only

Straw from Yom Kippur and Aravah Leaves from the Aravah-Beating by the Admo"r Rabbi Aharon of Belz. Double Segulah for Protection

Handful of straw on which the Admo"r Rabbi Aharon of Belz stood barefoot on Yom Kippur, as is the custom of Admo"rs of Belz. And aravah leaves from the aravah-beating by the Admo"r on the day "mesugal" (capable) of salvations - Hoshana Rabbah. Double segulah, rare and one-of-a-kind.

Rabbi Aharon of Belz stood barefoot the entire Yom Kippur, on the straw before us (known in Belz Chassidut as 'Shtroi,' and known among them to be a segulah for protection). Just after Yom Kippur, when permission was given to the Chassidim, as is customary, to take some of this straw, the ga'ava"d of Turda - a relative of the Admo"r's - took the straw before us and kept it in his archive for protection together with the aravah leaves that he took on Hoshanah Rabbah, from the Admo"r's aravah bundle.

The important book BiKedushto shel Aharon tells a story of the 'Shtroi' segulah: Rabbi Shemayah Klein, a Chassid of Belz, was once caught at the border crossing with a large sum of foreign currency in his pack (which was all his property). According to law, all the money had to be confiscated to the state treasury. There was also 'Shtroi' in his pack, upon which the Admo"r of Belz had stood during Yom Kippur. The chief commander of the border crossing, upon hearing that he had a bundle of straw upon which the Belzer Rebbe had stood, requested 'one straw' from the 'Shtroi,' and when he gave it to him, the customs officers let him go without confiscating even one penny of his entire property. The author concludes "I heard this from the protagonist himself, Rabbi Shemayah Klein, currently of Vienna."

Aravah leaves which fall off during the aravah-beating on Hoshana Rabbah are known for their great segulah for protection, as is brought in books of kabbalah and Chassidism. Sefer HaMiddot relates in the name of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov that the leaves constitute a segulah to eliminate anxieties, for protection on the roads and are also a segulah for fertility and viable offspring. How much more so, the leaves from the aravah-bunch used by the holy Rabbi Aharon of Belz, whose value and segulah are invaluable.

The Admo"r Rabbi Aharon Rokeah of Belz [1880-1957] was the son of Rabbi Yissachar Dov (the Mahary"d) of Belz and grandson of the Admo"r Rabbi Yehoshua of Belz. He was a wondrous tzaddik whose authority was accepted by the great Admo"rs of his generation. He was known for his holy, pure conduct in extreme asceticism, minimizing eating and sleeping, to the point that he was called "Aharon Kiddush Hash-m." He was considered one of the greatest Admo"rs, and it was said of him that even had he been alive in earlier times, he would still have been considered a "chiddush." From childhood, he was known for his extreme sanctity and his toil in Torah and Chassidut. He was known as a wondrous person adorned with divine inspiration.

The handful of straw and the aravah leaves are placed in a closed plastic protector. Fine condition.

Signed confirmation included from Rabbi Yisrael son of the gaon Rabbi M. Adler, ga'avad of Turda, attesting that the straw and leaves are from the Admo"r of Belz, and that his father, the ga'ava"d of Turda, was granted them and that he bequeathed them to him in his estate.