Monsey Memories: The Kashauer Rebbe

Yitzy Fried

A holy and revered presence in old Monsey of the last decades was Rebbe Eliezer Chaim Blum, the son of the old Kashauer Rebbe who came to Monsey from New Square many years ago and illuminated the town with his kedushah and his Torah.

The Rebbe was born to  Rav Refoel Blum, in the town of Kashau, Hungary, in the year 1939—just as the Nazi boot was descending on Europe. The family was fortunate to escape on the Kastner Train, the very same means by which the Satmar Rov and Rav Yonasan Steif escaped the horrors of the Holocaust.

As a young child, his father brought him to Rebbe Aaron of Belz, who showered him with special attention, perhaps foretelling his future.

The Rebbe inherited the unrelenting hasmodoh from his father, the old Kashauer Rebbe, and was known in his youth—as well as his old age—for his superhuman dedication to learning at all hours. He married the daughter of Rav Mordechai Friedman of Iasi (Romania) and Williamsburg.

For many years following his wedding, Rav Eliezer Chaim lived in New Square, where he was exceptionally close with the Admorim of Skver. At some point, he moved to Monsey, where he would later establish a yeshiva and serve as a Rebbe and Rosh Yeshiva.

During the lifetime of his father, he was the menahel of the yeshiva which had been established by him in Williamsburg, and later in Bedford Hills, Westchester County. Following the passing of his father in the year 2005, Rav Eliezer Chaim assumed his place as the Rebbe.

He established mosdos for boys and girls in Monsey, as well as a prominent Kollel. All the while, he would sit secluded for hours on end, immersed in Torah and avodah. He would carry around cards with him, keeping track of his strides in avodas Hashem, as though he were a young bachur.

The Rebbe had the mind of a genius—a fact that was appreciated not only by his Chassidim and fellow Yidden, but also by doctors, lawyers, and elected officials, all of whom were astounded by his insight into all matters. He employed his expertise to help his fellow Yidden, and would stop at nothing to help a Yid in need.

The fruits of his Torah are contained in the seforim Siach Chaim and Avos Harishonim, all of them brilliant insights in Torah.

The Rebbe, like his father, was known as a tremendous kano’i, and would always cry out about the challenges to Yiddishkeit.

The Rebbe was niftar on a Friday night in the winter of the year 2019, and was interred near his illustrious father in Bedford Hills—leaving behind an incredible legacy of chessed and avodas Hashem in Monsey of yore.