Why Did the Rebbe of Lelov Play Chess?

Year: 1966. Location: Sodom. Incident: A soul saved.

The incredible story of Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, a close disciple of the Rebbe of Lelov, who witnessed a miraculous event:

It happened 45 years ago when the Rebbe RMM of Lelov, known for his deep spiritual insight, traveled to Sodom for several weeks for reasons known only to him. The Rebbe refused to call the place Sodom, believing it to be destroyed and gone; the locals referred to it as 'Chamei Zohar'.

The Rebbe, a holy person separated from worldly matters, stayed there, and no one knew the purpose of his visit. He once remarked that since it was the lowest point in Israel, the world could be uplifted from its depths.

The Rebbe stayed alone, with only the devoted Reb Avraham Burshtain (May He Rest in Peace) allowed to assist him. We, a group of students, would come for Shabbat to make a minyan, and the Rebbe would send us back to our yeshivas on Saturday night.

One Saturday night, as we said our farewells, the Rebbe unexpectedly told me, "Stay here." So, I stayed.

On Sunday morning, after prayers, the Rebbe told me of a young man, the son of the owners of the place, suggesting I talk to him. I agreed, and then the Rebbe made an unusual request: "Ask him if he has chess. I want to play with him."

I was speechless. The holy Rebbe playing chess with a rebellious young man? I knew not to question the Rebbe's wisdom. I set out to find the young man and spent hours with him in the deserted hills of Sodom, sharing words of moral guidance.

Then I asked if he had chess, and he did. I invited him to come to the Rebbe in the evening. The Rebbe prepared for the chess game as if it were the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah, washing his hands and donning a gartel with intense concentration.

As the game began, the Rebbe, who was known to perform mystical intentions, asked me to stand by the mezuzah. When he lifted his eyes, it would signal me to kiss the mezuzah. So I stood there, and whenever the Rebbe glanced upwards amid the chess game, I kissed the mezuzah with awe and reverence.

The Rebbe didn't speak a word to the young man. Yet, when the young man left, I saw a spark ignite within him. He desired spirituality, crying, and pleading for me to teach him Torah.

I didn't stay long in Sodom, but I dedicated much time to the young man, teaching him Torah. He was eager and hungry for it, and the spark became a flame. We would walk and sing together "As a deer longs for streams of water." His soul connected to sanctity like a true returnee to faith, reaching heights even the righteous cannot achieve.

I'll never forget the day the Rebbe left Sodom. The young man stood by the car, weeping like a child: "Rebbe, Rebbe, why did you leave me?"

To me, it was an incomprehensible mystery I have yet to understand.

Not long after, I heard the young man was suddenly taken from this world. His soul ascended to heaven. I realized the Rebbe, with his spiritual vision, had taken a soul from the lowest, most tarnished place and elevated it to paradise.

To this day, Rabbi Grossman concludes, this remains a profound mystery, and who can stand in the secrets of the holy ones.