Rabbi Mordechai Stern

Reb Mordechai the son of Reb Yosef Stern, the nephew [son of the sister] of the well-known Gaon and Tzadik Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke Horowitz of Nikolsburg. Reb Mordechai was born in Czortkov, Galicia, where his grandfather (his mother's father, the father of the brothers Reb Shmelke and Reb Pinchas Horowitz) Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Horowitz, served as a rabbi. Reb Mordechai lived in the house of his uncle in Nikolsburg and studied Torah in his yeshiva. He received his Hassidic path from his uncle Reb Shmelke. He was forced to leave Moravia after his marriage, and he reached Máramaros along with his brothers Reb Shlomo Fruchter and Reb Avraham Adler, who settled in Oberviso and Borsa. Reb Mordechai Stern did well in Szelistye both from a material and from a spiritual perspective. Despite the fact that his listing in the census stated that he worked in liquor distilling, there is no doubt that he was one of the wealthy men of the entire district. Apparently, he leased forests and fields from the local noblemen, and was engaged in very large scale commerce as per the concept of the times. There was no Jew in the entire district of Máramaros who paid such a high lease fee. (His brother was Reb Shlomo Fruchter of Ubervischau . Reb Mordechai Stern used his wealth and good connections with the local authorities and nobility to improve the spiritual and religious situation of the Jews of Máramaros. The few Jews who lived in Máramaros at this time (the number of Jews throughout the entire Máramaros region in 1768 was 670) were scattered throughout a large area in tens of villages, without Torah, public prayer, or the opportunity to educate their children in the ways of Torah (indeed, without any education at all). The sole ray of light shone in the home of Reb Mordechai Stern of Salist. The first regular Beis Midrash of all the villages of the region (excluding the city of Sziget) was there. His home was open wide to any passer-by, and even gentiles were stayed over at his house. He invited rabbis and renowned Tzadikim from Galicia to his home. From among the guests to his home, the well-known Tzadik Rabbi Baruch of Kosow, the student of the Magid of Mezeritsh and of Reb Menachel Mendel of Vitebsk, the author of the books Yesod Haemuna [Foundations of Faith] and Amud Haavoda [The Pillar of Divine Service] (Czernovitz 5614 – 1854), who died in the year 5542 (1781) stands out. Reb Baruch of Kosow would remain in the home of Reb Mordechai Stern in Salist for several months, and many of the Jews of Máramaros would flock to him to listen to his discussions and words of Torah, and to be blessed by him for live children and sustenance. He would serve as the prayer leader on the High Holy Days, and Jews of Máramaros from the nearby and farther away villages would come to hear his Hassidic style prayers and supplications. There is no doubt that the first Hassidic gathering in all of Hungary took place in the home of Reb Mordechai Stern. Nevertheless, the Hassidic Tzadik who had the most influence upon the home of Reb Mordechai Stern in Salist and upon the ways of all of Máramaros Jewry was Reb Menachel Mendel of Kosow, who imprinted his spiritual-Hassidic seal upon the District of Máramaros in his generation, and for following generations. Reb Mordechai Stern established a blessed generation of upright people. Many of the Jews of Máramaros are descended from him. Two of his sons moved to nearby villages. Reb Yitzchak Stern moved to Starimatra (see entry) and Reb Mordechai Stern moved to Dragomireºti, where they continued in the traditions of their father and raised generations of scholars and Hassidim. The father-in-law of Reb Mordechai Stern, Rabbi Chaim Meir Traub, was the rabbi of Sziget for a brief period (see entry on Sziget). After his wife died in her prime, he left Sziget and returned to his native town of Delatyn in Galicia. He returned to Sziget toward the end of his life, where he died at an old age in the year 5602 (1841). Reb Mordechai stern apparently died around the year 5560 (1800). Source: http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/maramures/mar178.html

• Reference: MyHeritage Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jul 17 2022, 10:26:44 UTC