The Rebbe of Karlin-Stolin will spend the upcoming Shabbos, Tazria-Metzora, in Detroit, Michigan. The visit marks a rare and significant occasion, as the Rebbe will not only visit the kever of his great-uncle, the tzaddik Rav Yaakov Chaim of Stolin zt”l, whose resting place is in Detroit, but will also remain in the city for Shabbos.
While the Rebbe traditionally travels to Detroit annually for the yahrtzeit of Rav Yaakov Chaim, this year’s visit is different: he will be spending the entire Shabbos with his chassidim in the city—something he last did fifteen years ago.
The visit is expected to draw hundreds of Karlin-Stolin chassidim from around the world, and preparations on the ground are already underway. A team of community organizers is working tirelessly to erect large tents that will serve as temporary batei midrash for tefillos and tishen, while lodging accommodations are being secured to house the influx of visitors.
On Sunday, the Rebbe is scheduled to visit the kever of Rav Yaakov Chaim, joined by many chassidim, to daven for yeshuos for both individuals and the broader klal.
The baal haHillula, Rav Yaakov Chaim of Stolin zt”l, was the third son of Rav Yisroel Perlow of Stolin, known as the “Yanuka.” He married Rebbetzin Chanah Chaya a”h, daughter of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel Twersky. The couple was not blessed with children.
After his father’s passing in 1922, Rav Yaakov Chaim immigrated to the United States in 1924, leading the Karlin chassidim primarily in New York. He established additional shuls in Williamsburg, and—together with the Karlin-Kobrin faction—in Chicago and Detroit.
At the time, the Karlin-Stolin presence in America numbered in the hundreds. Rav Yaakov Chaim devoted himself to kiruv, reaching out to unaffiliated Jewish youth and students during a time when many were drifting from Yiddishkeit. He founded Torah institutions and held inspiring tishen in his home every Shabbos, attracting large crowds.
On the 6th of Iyar in 1946, while visiting his community in Detroit, Rav Yaakov Chaim suddenly collapsed and passed away. He was buried in Detroit and came to be known affectionately among his chassidim as “the Detroiter.”
Two years after his passing, his brother, the rebbe Rav Yochanan, arrived in America and settled in Williamsburg, where he opened a yeshiva and built new institutions. Later in life, he relocated the center of Karlin-Stolin chassidus to Boro Park.
{Matzav.com}