Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig HaKohen Katzman (23 Tishrei, 5690 (apprx) – 18 Adar, 5758).
Biography
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Born in Poltave (presumed) he spent his younger years in Malachovke, a suburb outside Moscow which was a hub for Chassidim who went underground from the Yevsektzie & the KGB for keeping Judaism.
As a young boy he lost both parents and only sister to famine during World War II in the early 1940’s and was taken care of by his uncle, Reb Yosef Pindrik.
This did not stop him from immersing himself in Torah study to the point that he was the best student in the underground Yeshivah’s in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (then part of Soviet Russia).
The quiet sage
Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig HaKohen Katzman
Even when he worked long hours, he would arrive at home as late as 8:00 PM and learn gemara (seder Kodoshim) with a chavrusa for two+hours. On Thursday nights, Reb Zelig wouldn’t go to bed to sleep but would stay awake studying torah,
Yehoshua Zelig once had a study partner a boy who was 5-6 years his senior, This parter was a quick thinker with a lively head, and was known to be a genius. They were once engrossed in deciphering a heavy piece of the Talmud, and Zelig’s mate was abuzz with idea’s and thoughts with all his being. Zelig was sitting there and listening silently. His fellow who was so excited by his comprehension and idea’s that he just carried on awaiting Zelig’s agreement or any response for that matter. But Zelig was there just staring and on occasion he would stare at his friend till Zelig finally exclaimed “No this is wrong it is not so.” The fellow stared back in amazement and Zelig continued to be silent. So the classmate decided to force the issue what is wrong with his dissertation. Until Zelig managed in a few short sentences to undo the entire basis for his thesis.
Halacha without loopholes
Once, when he was working in diamonds, he was coming home on the subway on a Friday afternoon, with a case full of jewels. Suddenly he remembered that the clock had changed, and he was running late. It would be impossible for him to get home in time.
What was he to do? He would never be able to carry the diamonds home without breaking Shabbos! He got off the train at once, and ran to a nearby police station and told them of his problem, but they refused to help.
Zaide just sat down. He decided to spend Shabbos in the police station. He wouldn’t dream of breaking Shabbos, and he didn’t want to risk causing any loss to his employer. Without looking for a heter (a loophole in Jewish law), he just did what had to be done. Eventually the police called his employer, a non-Jew, who came and got the diamonds. Then Zelig walked all the way home for Shabbos.
in his sons words
In the words of Rabbi Yosef Katzman, The eldest of Reb Zelig’s children;
Everybody knew my father as Reb Zelig, the humble one. He quietly studied for himself, at the same time he was always available to teach others. The Russian, the American or the Frenchmen, always found him fascinating and educating. Although he was a man of measured words, he was the teacher of many, known and unknown. He was a calming shoulder for the depressed, and he shared his advice with many, in person and long distance. He would secretly seek financial or other means of help for those in need, whether they turned to him or not. He gave a lot of charity on the condition that no one should know.
Furthur reading on the life and legacy of Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig HaKohen Katzman
- L’CHAIM – ISSUE # 527 Copyright (c) 1998 Lubavitch Youth Organization – L.Y.O. Brooklyn, NY article by Jacob Pinsky
- Algemeiner Journal, Friday, Nissan 30, 5759 – April 16, 1999
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