Whose Chometz Is It, Anyway?
(Based on a True Story in Zichronos Harav Maza)
He was my grandfather’s father. His name was R’ Yeshaye ben R’ Moshe. His father, R’ Moshe, had been the av beis din of Bober, in the province of Mogilev, near Kropki. The son, R’Yeshaye, was a very distinguished man, famous for his wealth, his scholarship, and his yiras Shamayim (fear of heaven).
Yes, this R’ Yeshaye was the famous Jew who hefkered his chometz. Yes, he gave it all away because of the Poritz’s meshugas. Of course, all the Poritzim were crazy. It’s not surprising; remember, each Poritz in the Ukraine was an absolute dictator of all the peasants and Jews (there were no others) who lived on his lands; he literally had the power of life and death over his subjects. But this Poritz was particularly crazy, or eccentric, if you prefer that term. He derived particular pleasure from devising new and original ways of embittering the lives of his Jews.