Rescuing with Courage: Zusha the Partisan's Tale of Survival

R' Moshe Gurary was a well-off Hasidic Jew from Tel Aviv, owning the famous "Dubek" cigarette factory. In 1948, R' Moshe was at the Chabad Rebbe's synagogue as part of public service. It came to his attention that the Rebbe inquired about a "young man Z.V. from Israel" and discussed him with his son-in-law, the last Chabad Rebbe. R' Moshe was amazed that such a significant leader would be interested in any young man from Israel, prompting him to meet Zusha Wilimovsky after returning to his home country.

It turned out there was good reason his reputation spread overseas. Zusha was immensely energetic, founding girls' schools, charity organizations, women's Torah classes, and printing sacred texts at a time when few engaged in Jewish activities in Israel. In 1949, the Chabad Rebbe asked him to establish a neighborhood for Chabad community members, leading to the founding of a settlement that later became the well-known Kfar Chabad.

But why did the Rebbe show interest in him as a young man?

Zusha Wilimovsky's adventures did not begin in Tel Aviv. He was the son of the rabbi of Seltz in Poland. During the German invasion of Poland, Zusha fled to Lithuania, enrolling in Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman's yeshiva in Baranovichi. As the Germans advanced into Lithuania, yeshiva students fled to the town of Smilchuk, where Zusha actively informed families of approaching danger, helping many escape further.

During his wanderings, Zusha was captured by the Nazis and placed in the Lida Ghetto, where he met his friend and study partner from Baranovichi, David Gershovitz. Together, they escaped the ghetto but were captured again and sent to a labor camp. The camp was brutally oppressive like other Nazi labor camps, but the two friends constantly planned their escape. They knew staying meant death, while escaping carried the risk of death. Eventually, a sign from a random scripture lent them courage: "they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people." It was a promising omen, and the next day during their wood-cutting work in the forest, they timed a guard shift change and dashed into the woods. Before the guards realized, they were gone. Zusha had already found partisan whereabouts, successfully joining their ranks. They had to demonstrate military ability, which they resourcefully improvised. They participated in raids, fighting Germans. "We killed many Germans," Zusha recounted in his old age. During one raid, Zusha was shot in the leg but survived by Hashem's grace. Their focus remained on rescuing Jews from German clutches, an effort that proved successful. Amidst the millions who perished, Jews sheltered under a brutal German guard would witness him fall from a sudden gunshot, with two Jewish partisans signaling them: "You're free, join us!"

Zusha recalled: "We lived under trees, covering ourselves with cloth at night. During cold winters, we'd wake up, shake snow from blankets, and carry on. Later, we dug into the earth small underground hideouts called 'zimlankot,' where we lived and slept." Once, when David Gershovitz fell severely ill, fluttering near death's doorstep, Zusha dug a pit for warmth and repeatedly brewed hot drinks until he recovered, enabling them both to resume fighting against the Nazis.

Ahead of Passover in 1943, Jewish partisans cleaned scant remaining chametz, set a pot over fire, cooked kosher Passover meals, and even managed to bake a few charred matzot, thus celebrating the Seder night.

The last days of the war were the hardest. Many who survived its years fell into the hands of retreating, frenzied Nazis, not knowing what they were doing, and were killed. In those days, Zusha and David moved from place to place. Knocking on a door at the edge of a village, they found sanctuary with Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Kalf, later the Nadvorna Rebbe in Israel, who hid them until war's end.

After the war, they immigrated to Israel, continuing their studies in a yeshiva. Yet, without resting for a day, Zusha tirelessly promoted Torah learning, drawing attention from the Chabad Rebbe and becoming a devoted Chabad follower and a prominent community figure in Israel. The Rebbe affectionately referred to him as "my partisan," explaining: a partisan doesn't look left or right, he does what's needed, even if unofficial. Once, the Rebbe handed him a bottle, saying: "Share this with all the partisans in Israel."