Father of Orphans
Beginning in 1945, Portugal began adopting dozens of war orphans and caring for hundreds of others. When he was able to move to Bucharest, Romania, he smuggled his "family" in with him and proceeded to adopt even more children, establishing an orphanage for their care. Years later, he wrote in his will that his "children" should show their appreciation to him by remaining loyal to Judaism and studying Torah at every possible moment.
In 1959, Portugal was accused by the Communist government of Romania of spying for Israel and the United States. He was imprisoned together with his only son, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. The Rebbes of Sadigura, Kapischnitz and Boyan led an international effort to free the Skulener Rebbe and his son. Eventually, through the intervention of United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, the two were freed in the spring of 1960 and immediately immigrated to the United States. The Rebbe later said that he chose the United States over Israel so he could better help those who remained in Romania.
The Rebbe settled in Crown Heights and continued his efforts helping the underprivileged. As the Jewish population in Crown Heights began to diminish, his followers left to Boro Park and Williamsburg. However, the Skulener Rebbe remained in Crown Heights in deference to the Lubavitcher Rebbe's requests of the Jewish population to stay. Due to his long schedule of prayer, and the absence of Skulener followers in his proximity, a daily minyan was formed for him in his house with Lubavitcher students. Later on, he moved to Williamsburg.
When others urged him to open a yeshiva, he responded, "What would my yeshiva add to all the others? A person who wants to do a mitzvah must ask how he can give the most pleasure to God." Instead he inaugurated a network of schools called Chesed L'Avrohom. In Israel, his schools competed with those of the secular leftists for the children of immigrants to that country.
In 1961, Portugal visited Israel for the first time. He took a side trip to a leftist kibbutz to forgive a Romanian socialist who had been one of his fiercest opponents years before. (That man's descendants became observant Jews.)
Portugal authored Noam Eliezer and Kedushas Eliezer, as well as composed many popular Hasidic tunes. He died on 18 August 1982 and was buried in the Vizhnitzer Cemetery in Monsey, New York.
Read more about this topic: Eliezer Zusia Portugal
Famous quotes containing the words father and/or orphans:
“Every boy was supposed to come into the world equipped with a father whose prime function was to be our father and show us how to be men. He can escape us, but we can never escape him. Present or absent, dead or alive, real or imagined, our father is the main man in our masculinity.”
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