Chicago has been suffering from many terrible tragedies for quite a while now. Terminal illness, accidents, fires, etc.
Someone just told us a very interesting story and we'd like to know if anyone heard of this. Apparently in the early 1900's a Rav from Eretz Yisroel visited Chicago and was upset with the community at the lack of respect he received here. He then put a curse on the city. While this sounds superficial and Baal Gaavadik, although we don't really know the whole story, it is apparently true as we did ask a well respected Rav just this morning. He unfortunately does not remember the name of the Rav involved in this story. We are asking because maybe there's a chance to reverse this curse by having people daven at his kever. So if anyone out there has heard of this and knows the name of the Rav, we would appreciate it if you could tell us. This is not for Lashon Hara - but it is to help our city!
Thank you for any help you can give us.
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Did anyone ever hear of this story.......?
(28 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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At first sight I thought it might be הרה''ג ר' יעקב דוד רידב''ז זצ''ל ז as I remember reading his description of the הפקרות in Kashrue during his tenure as Rav of Chicago so I googled his name. but reading http://www.elmorahillsminyan.org/Home/gedolim/american-gedolim/kashrus I saw
The Ridvaz writes something akin to a prophecy. “Who knows? Perhaps one day Hashem will perpetuate the Torah and it will find a dwelling in this country. Let the future generations know what transpired in America at the time that [the Ridvaz] resided there. Let them know that among the Rabbanim and baalei batim there were both good and bad people…”
far far from a curse.Posted 1 year ago # -
Thank you TTBH, but as you said - what the Rav you are referring to said is far from a curse. Apparently there was a Rav who did actually curse the city.
I hope someone else can come up with the information.Posted 1 year ago # -
not to mention the cubs oy
Posted 1 year ago # -
Could it be that a current machlokes is causing this???
This was rav Shteinman's oponion.
Posted 1 year ago # -
did this curse happen in 1908 the last time the cubs won the world series ? and i always thought it was the billy goat
Posted 1 year ago # -
@TheGog - and the kennedy curse
Posted 1 year ago # -
and here we all thought it was Mrs. O'Leary's cow.
Posted 1 year ago # -
kennedy shouldn't have cursed the cubs daley fixed the election for jfk
Posted 1 year ago # -
The Kennedy curse is well-documented. Never underestimate the power of a tzaddik.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@oomis1105 - I totally agree. Never underestimate the power of a tzaddik!! The Kennedy family has suffered many tragedies since that curse.
I notice a lot of you are joking about this topic, but nobody is coming up with any answers.
We did ask another Rav today and he metioned that he heard something about the Ridvaz whom "trying to be helpful" mentioned. But again it doesn't sound like much of a curse unless there is more to what he said than what is written here.Posted 1 year ago # -
who's joking? 102 years since a championship, 65 years since the last world series it is a travesty
Posted 1 year ago # -
I don't know anything about a curse but I heard that in a certain city there were a bunch of bad things happening, like young women miscarrying so the Rosh HaYeshiva said that you need a persons zchus and a great anav and Talmid Chacham moved in and until he was niftar the community didn't really have any great tragedies.
Maybe you could try to do something like that, counterattack the Rav's curse.Posted 1 year ago # -
APPALING GROTESQUE CRUEL
Here is a woman writing about צרות ישרא
and a bunch of imbecilic clowns have nothing else to write about than the Cubs, Mrs. O'Leary's cow, billy goats, and the Kenedeys ימח שמםPosted 1 year ago # -
trying your probably a yankees fan
Posted 1 year ago # -
Psach Libi:
It's unfair to rehash the entire situation online in a forum for Yeshivishe people like yourself. As a Chicago resident, you know full well who is being referred to below. Ten years ago a very popular mechanech was publicly embarassed and removed from chinuch without due diligence on the part of the board of directors or the Vaad Hachinuch. There are numerous at-risk kids in Chicago who are livid at what happened.
This story shows that not much has changed since the rav in 1910 was embarassed. If things were calm in Chicago until 10 years ago, maybe there is some shaychus.
Posted 1 year ago # -
dear sister bear, while we all could use improvement and extra zechusim, there are very many choshuv Rabbonim and people involved in Chesed in Chicago.I believe we all should try to be our best and then Hashem will help all of us.Tangibly this means more learning Davening and Tehillim and doing chesed for one another. Even a conscientious minute increase in these activities can tilt the scale to Rachamim and Zechus as long as we try our best. Additionally, many times people are saved due to the fact how upset people around them would become if tragedy will befall them. If we show we are united in caring for each other then we will have extra zechusim in shomayim.Ohaiv es Habriyos Ohaiv Es Hamakom.Whoever is loved by people is in turn loved by Hashem. onlySimchas
Posted 1 year ago # -
@Trying to be helpful - let's just ignore the joker(s)
Posted 1 year ago # -
why would hashem make people who live in chicago in 2010 suffer bec. of the way other people behaved in that city over a hundred years ago? does this make any sense to you? and why would a choshuver person give such a klala? . according to the torah , when a tragedy happens upon a person or a people , its a message from hashem that we need to do teshuva . attributing the tzara to sometging not related to our actions directly is missing the point . the rambam says that in that case the punishments only get worse till we see the signs for what they are . hashem yerachem . lets all do teshuva and here only besuros tovos ..amen
Posted 1 year ago # -
and why would steven bartman stick out his hand for the ball??
Posted 1 year ago # -
I agree with Benaishek.
Blaming it on the distant past is an easy out so we don't need to think it has anything to do with us.Posted 1 year ago # -
I am the one who started this post. I'm just using a new name now because the other one belongs to a family member not me. I now started my own name on here.
Anyway,
@POPA - I too agree with Benaishek. I was just asking the question based on what I heard. I do find it hard to believe that a great person would put an curse on a city for years to come based on an incident he experienced. I also believe we do have to look at ourselves and see what we are doing wrong.@ ARTCHILL - "As a Chicago resident, you know full well who is being referred to below. Ten years ago a very popular mechanech was publicly embarassed and removed from chinuch without due diligence on the part of the board of directors or the Vaad Hachinuch. There are numerous at-risk kids in Chicago who are livid at what happened." No I honestly don't know who is being referred to in the story. Maybe it's better that I didn't hear this loshon hara. So obviously, I'm not trying to rehash any situation on this forum or cause any problems.
Posted 1 year ago # -
gefen - did you also post this on the 'daas torah' site?
I saw the exact same post there, made a day ago.Posted 1 year ago # -
here is an excerpt from today's Hakhel Organization's email
HaRav Kanievsky continues by bringing the Rabbeinu Bechaya (end of ParshasVayechi) who writes that the reason the Asara Harugei Malchus were punished was because Yosef did not expressly state that he forgave them. It must be that the reason that they did not go to his Kever to ask for Mechila was because they did not realize that one must obtain express Mechila until they saw that they had been punished.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I guess this is why I'll never see the Cubs win the world series....
Posted 1 year ago # -
The Boston Red Sox' dismal 20th century world series record was believed to be the result of a curse put on the sox when they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. I don't really believe that. Boston suffered mostly from bad ownership mixed with some bad luck.
You may recall the radio comedy team of Bob and Ray who were from Boston originally, but were on radio in NY. Ray Goulding was a rabid Red Sox fan. When he died in 1990 his obit ended: "Cause of death: Boston Red Sox."
Posted 1 year ago # -
@Trying my best - No I didn't post this on the Daas Torah site. I will check it out. Interesting that someone else also posted this.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Gefen:
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT CAUSES HASHEM TO DO THINGS. However, it's very scary that you posted exactly ten years to the week that the ill-fated meeting referenced above took place.
Posted 1 year ago #
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