Yitzchak Nemes

R' Yitzchak Nemes (13 Iyar 5684/1924 - 10 Nissan 5766/2006) was a businessman from Crown Heights who merited that the Rebbe would guide him in his business affairs, and who carried out many missions according to the Rebbe's instructions during his travels.

Life History[edit | edit source]

R' Yitzchak was born on 13 Iyar 5684/1924 in Munich, Germany, to his father R' Aharon Meir, who greatly assisted Jews during World War II. During his childhood years, he stayed in Helsinki, Finland. When he was still a young child, World War II broke out, and his father R' Aharon Meir helped many Jewish refugees who arrived in Finland.

When the Baltic Sea froze over in the winter of 5701/1941, and refugees stopped arriving, his parents decided to leave Europe and move to the United States. At the end of the winter, the family reached the city of Petsamo in northern Finland, from where they sailed on the ship "Carolina Thorden." During the voyage, R' Yitzchak went up to the bridge to watch the sunset, but remembered that he had not yet prayed the Mincha prayer. A few minutes after he descended from the bridge and began praying, the ship was bombed by German aircraft, and the bridge was the first to be hit. The entire ship began to catch fire, and the captain sent out distress calls. A British warship that was nearby miraculously rescued the passengers. The survivors were housed on an island near the coast, within a military base.

After several months of waiting, on the night of Pesach Seder, the passengers received notice that a ship would depart for the United States on the coming Shabbat. Because of the sanctity of Shabbat, his father R' Aharon decided to remain on the island, despite the danger, until another opportunity that would not interfere with Shabbat observance. Two weeks later, they boarded another ship, and then discovered that the first ship had been sunk by the Germans.

In the United States[edit | edit source]

When they arrived in New York, the family had a private audience (yechidus) with the Rebbe Rayatz. During the audience, they told the Rebbe about the miraculous rescues they had experienced on their way to the United States. The Rebbe Rayatz raised his hands and said that Divine Providence had saved them not only because of the faith they had, but also so they could spread Yiddishkeit in their new location.

Thirty years later, the Rebbe instructed him to write the story of their rescue in "Sichos L'Noar" (Talks for Youth). The story appeared in four chapters.

With the Rebbe[edit | edit source]

Since arriving in New York, his father made sure to visit 770 frequently, and he began to maintain a connection with the Rebbe (who was then the son-in-law of the Rebbe Rayatz, before becoming Rebbe). A special connection developed between him and the Rebbe, and after the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz, R' Yitzchak was among the few who merited to pray daily in the Rebbe's minyan on the second floor. Every day after Shacharit prayer, the Rebbe would call R' Yitzchak and speak with him about his personal matters.

In one of the years after accepting the leadership, the Rebbe held a farbrengen on Shabbat Mevarchim, and after the farbrengen, the Rebbe rose from his place and took R' Yitzchak and R' Moshe Telishevsky for a brief dance, at the end of which he blessed them: "Ich vel kumen tzu aych oyf simchas" (I will come to your simchas [joyous occasions]).

In 5717/1957, he married his wife, Mrs. Zelda, daughter of the Chassid R' Moshe Zalman Kaminsky.

R' Yitzchak passed away on 10 Nissan, Shabbat HaGadol 5766/2006.

His Business[edit | edit source]

When his family stayed on Faroe Island near the coast, R' Yitzchak had no educational framework, and out of boredom, he went to help at the local post office. Because of the disruption in communications during the war, the island's governor issued 5,000 independent stamps for ongoing needs until the end of the war. A clerk at the post office recommended that R' Yitzchak purchase some of the stamps, as their value would increase after the war. The boy convinced his father, who purchased 100 stamps. When they arrived in the United States with nothing, they sold the stamps for a considerable sum.

"About you it can be said 'And Judah he sent before him to Goshen.' We are sending you as 'sent before him' to prepare a place for Chabad Houses." – Rabbi Hodakov to R' Yitzchak, when he returned from one of his trips

After he got married, he thought about returning to the stamp business he had started in his childhood. He asked the Rebbe about this, and the Rebbe blessed him, and even gave him a check for $200 from the Rebbe Rayatz's fund. The Rebbe suggested he travel to Paris, where the stamp market was good for business.

Before every deal he made, he sent the contract to the Rebbe for advice and blessing, and succeeded in creating special connections with postal chiefs and ministers in third-world countries. The first time he issued his own stamps in Paraguay, he sent pictures of the stamps to the Rebbe and asked for a blessing. The Rebbe answered that the drawings on the stamps should be positive in order to positively influence the citizens of the country.

Many times the Rebbe instructed him: "Increase in travels." He would use his travels to spread Yiddishkeit and deliver religious articles to Jews in remote places. On one occasion when he returned from a trip and entered for yechidus, the Rebbe said to him: "Yitzchak, du bist a biznes mentsh darfstu gedenken machen biznes..." (Yitzchak, you are a businessman and don't forget to do business...).

His Family[edit | edit source]

His son-in-law, Rabbi Peretz Greenwald - Long Beach, California

External Links[edit | edit source]

Rafi Dinari, Business Trip for the Rebbe, Beit Moshiach Issue 874, p. 110 The Only Jew the Rebbe Found in Guyana ● A Moving Story (Shturem link) A Chassid of 'Mivtza Tefillin' (Shturem link)