From Rav Nosson Englard…..
Yahrtzeit of Reb Yankel Englard of Sosnovtza-Radzyn (29 Shvat 5752)
Reb Yankel Englard was a younger brother of the Rebbe Rav Avrohom Yissochor zatza”l. The Rebbe crowned his younger brother with the title “צדיק תמים”. These words are an understatement when describing a pure yid like Reb Yankel.
Reb Yankel was beloved by all who knew him, Jews and non-Jews alike. He was a yid of mesiras nefesh, who literally gave himself away completely to care for everyone else. Reb Yankel was also very instrumental in keeping the flame of Radzyn burning in the USA. He worked tirelessly to unite all the Radziner Chassidim in the states.
We will elaborate a bit about one middah of his – the middah of Hachnosas Orchim – which was one of his foremost middos that he did with a special and unparalleledmesiras nefesh. We will shed some light on this middah based on the teachings of the Rebbes of Izhbitza and Radzyn.
We know that the middah of Hachnosas Orchim is attributed to Avrohom Avinu – the forerunner of Middas Hachesed. The Mei Hashiloach notes something of great significance on one hand, and of great difficulty to understand on the other hand.
Of all the amazing feats of Chesed and Hachnosas Orchim that Avrohom Avinu accomplished during his lifetime, only one is actually mentioned in the Torah. This is the episode of the three angels coming to Avrohom Avinu.
The Izhbitzer says this seems to be kind of absurd. This was the only time that Avrohom Avinu didn’t actually fulfill the mitzva of Hachnosas Orchim, since angels don’t have to eat. Why then would the Torah mention this as the only
time the Hachnosas Orchim of Avrohom Avinu is mentioned? The Mei Hashiloach himself does not answer this question,
rather he writes והמשכיל יבין, “and the intelligent will understand”.
The previous Radzyner Rebbe, Rav Avrohom Yissochor Englard explains this with a very deep and extraordinary insight. It is understood from different sources in Chazal, that the angels actually ate at Avrohom Avinu’s home. This can be understood with the words of the Radomsker Rebbe, the Chesed L’Avrohom. The power of Avrohom Avinu’s will to give to other beings – to fulfill Hachnosas Orchim – was so great that it not only caused angels to come down to visit Avrohom Avinu, but it even caused these angels to have to physically eat.
The Mei Hashiloach states in many places that the ultimate test if a person has truly acquired a middah, is if the middah is so rampant within the person, that it spills over and affects others as well. The Rebbe Rav Avrohom Yissochor points out that when the Torah wants to teach us the essence of Avrohom Avinu’s Hachnosas Orchim, it deems it necessary to choose specifically this episode. Here we learn that Avrohom Avinu wasn’t just fulfilling Hachnosas Orchim, rather it was his veryessence. Avrohom Avinu was the pillar of Middas Hachesed. This we can clearly see in the way that even the angels were affected by him.
Reb Yankel truly exemplified the ultimate Middas Hachesed. Anyone that passed through the shtiebel was immediately affected by the middah of נתינה, the giving that was felt there. It was the very essence of the atmosphere that surrounded his countenance. May his merit be a zechus for all those that he cared for so much!