Reb Avraham Mattisyahu 
of Shtefinesht zy”a

93rd yahrtzeit 21 Tammuz

The Shtefineshter Rebbe was a descendant of the Rhuzhiner dynasty, and his father was a son 
of the holy Rhuzhiner Rebbe. He was one of the most famous Rebbes of his time and led much 
of Romanian Jewry. The Shtefineshter was known as a great baal mofes, and many Yidden came 
to him for help and blessings. He became especially well known for helping Jews avoid being drafted into the Romanian army. After his passing, he was buried in Yass, Romania. In 1969, his coffin was brought to Eretz Yisroel and reburied in Givatayim. Until today, his kever remains a special makom tefillah, where many Yidden come to daven and have seen tremendous yeshuos.

There was a Yid who had no children and often came to the Shtefineshter asking for a brocha. One day, he became involved in a serious financial dispute with the government and came to the Rebbe for help. The Rebbe told him, “I can give you a brocha that you will have children, but then you will lose all your money. I can also give you a brocha that you will win your court case, but then you will never merit having children.” The man thought for a moment and chose the brocha to win the court case.

The Rebbe was surprised by his answer. The man explained that much of the money involved belonged to widows and orphans who had invested with him. If he lost the case, they would lose their savings and suffer greatly. He could not bear to let that happen. The Rebbe was deeply impressed by his concern for others and gave 
him a brocha to win the case. He also told him to return after the case was over.

When the man came back after winning, the Rebbe instructed him to return all his investments and give the rest of his money to tzedakah. In that zechus, he would be blessed with children. The Rebbe then revealed something amazing. He explained that sometimes Hashem gives a person a special eis ratzon, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive a tremendous blessing. When the man had first come before the court case, the Rebbe saw that such a moment had arrived. Once he chose the brocha for the money, that opportunity should have been lost. However, because he acted with such self-sacrifice and cared more about the widows and orphans than about his own wishes, Hashem went beyond the normal order of things and granted him a second chance. 

The reason the Shtefineshter was not buried in his hometown of Shtefinesht was that people feared the local non-Jews respected the Rebbe so much that they might come and bow to his kever. To prevent any possibility of this, he was buried in Yass instead.