After Reb Shaya’s passing in the 3rd of Iyar,1925, his son Reb Avram’elezt”ltook over as Rebbe of Kerestir. He continued to provide for the poor as his father had instructed. Two short years later, on the 18th of Adar I, 1927, Reb Avram’ele passed on prematurely. Now his son-in-law Reb Meir Yosef Rubinzt”lhy”dfilled his place as Rebbe of Kerestir.
Reb Meir Yosef maintained his grandfather’s legacy of doling out chesed, and with it the continued yeshuos that Reb Shaya’le promised. He served as Rebbe for 17 yearsduring which time Reb Shaya’le’s home at 65 Kossuth Utca remained a calling place for the needy from all over Hungary and beyond. Reb Meir Yosef along with most of the town’s Jewish inhabitants were deported to Auschwitz and murdered in Sivan 1944. He was survived by two sons and a daughter who reestablished the Kerestir tradition in New York and Eretz Yisrael.
Although Reb Shayale’s home was abandoned during the Holocaust, his descendants brought his burning desire to assist others with them to America and Israel. Today a granddaughter of Reb Meir Yosef and her children oversee an organizationthat distributes vast amounts of basics for babies of needy families. It all began with one phone call.
One day one of Reb Shayale’s descendants received an alarming call. A woman described the constant wailing of an infant in a neighboring apartment. The baby’s mother could not provide natural milk and could not afford the high cost of baby formula. She watered down the little formula she bought to make it last longer, but the infant was never satisfied and he cried constantly. More worryingly, he was not receiving the nourishment he needed to grow and thrive.
Reb Shayale’s descendant undertook to provide the baby formula and soon the wailing stopped. Somehow word spread and soon more and more phone calls poured in. Babies far and wide from impoverished families were not receiving the basic sustenance they needed to thrive. “Please help us feed this hungry child!”
And that’s how Rav Lehoshia was born.
Incredibly, many families in Israel cannot afford to provide the most basic needs for their babies—right now in the 21st century! 100 years after Reb Shayale’s passing the need is still here. And now, thanks to Rav Lehoshia, 100 years after his passing Reb Shayale’s legacy is also still here, extending a helping hand to those in greatest need so that Reb Shayale’syeshuos — like the babies’ milk — will continue flowing.
