On 46th Street and 9th Avenue, there is a tiny shtiebel by the name of Badishla. It was founded by a rov of the old country by the name of Rav Yisroel Chaim Hirsch who hailed from a town in Austria called Bad-Ishel. 

He established beautiful Torah generations on American soil, and was respected and beloved by many. 

Bad-Ishel

Rav Yisroel Chaim was born in Nadvorna to his father Rav Yochanan, where many generations of the family lived, and they were all ardent Belzer chassidim. They would journey often to Belz to be with the Rebbe for Yomim Tovim. Otherwise, they were closer to Rebbe Mordechai of Nadvorna, and his grandfather was the gabbai of the Nadvorna Rebbe. 

When asked about the family yichus, he would always say, “One must create their yichus.” The only thing that he let on about his lineage was that he would often say “der zeide Rav Pinchos Koritzer.” 

He received semicha from the ga’on Rav Shmuel Engel, the Radomishla Rov at the age of seventeen, which was no small accomplishment. In addition, the family tradition has it that he knew large parts of Zohar by heart. 

Rav Yisroel Chaim married, and had five children prior to the war. He would lose them all in the terrible Churban, Hy”d. Great miracles occurred for him during the war years. He would escape from camp to camp, seemingly always knowing where to be at the right time to avoid the worst fate. A Yid who was with him during that time later related that he would wake up in middle of the night saying, “we must leave this place immediately.” They would later hear of the terrible calamities that befell the people in the previous place.  

He also merited to take his tefillin with him during all the war years, and he refused to let the Nazis take away his beard. They beat him mercilessly, and he remained hard of hearing for the rest of his life as a result.  

Following the war, he came to the Austrian town of Bad-Ishel, and served as a rov for the survivor community there. 

Boro Park 

The Badishla Rov was a gifted person, and when it came to establishing his shul in Boro Park, he built the tables and benches, the aron kodesh, and even a mikvah, with his own bare hands. He also built a matzoh oven inside his shul, and people would flock from all over to bake matzos by the Badishla Rov. 

He began to serve as a rov to the nascent Boro Park community, but always harbored a dream of moving to Eretz Yisroel. 

Rav Hirsch was learned in nigleh as well as the hidden Torah, and he would learn kabboloh together with tsaddikim of his generation behind closed doors. He also learned kabboloh with his children when they grew older, spending many hours learning with them. He had a special relationship with Rebbe Itzikel of Pshevorsk who resided in Antwerp, and journeyed to Belgium on a number of occasions. He once took along his young son, who got hungry and snatched a piece of challah from the table. The Rebbe was amused and said to the little boy, “you should live as long as I live.” The son would always say that he will, be’ezras Hashem live until 93, just like the Pshevorsker Rebbe.” 

He was also very close to the Satmar Rebbe, the Divrei Yoel, and with Rebbe Hershele of Kretchnif, who told the grandchildren of the Badishla rov that he is only alive due to the efforts of their grandfather. 

Receiving a brochoh from the Badishla Rov would take a long time; he had endless patience for his fellow Yid, and gave them all the time in the world. “He had the sweetest smile,” recalls a grandson.  When he looked at you, you melted from his sweetness.”

Ten seforim were published by the Badishla Rov, some during his lifetime and some were published by his sons after his passing. He received glowing haskomos from Rav Moshe Feinstein, the Skulener Rebbe, and others who lauded his great breadth in Torah. 

In the introduction, his son attributes his tremendous grasp in Torah to the fact that he never ate anything that was not prepared by his Rebbetzin. “Everything was made at home, and in all his years, he never ate meat, only chicken,” he wrote. 

Three years before his passing, the Badishla Rov suffered a stroke in Eretz Yisroel and was brought back to America by private plane. His son rarely left his side, until his passing on Shabbos, 7th of Kislev of the year 1990, at the time of Shalosh seudos. 

Rav Yisroel Chaim was brought to Eretz Yisroel for kevurah, and was interred on har hazeisim.