Auction 34
Lot 154:
It was the minhag of Admorim of Belz over generations to lay straw at their feet on Yom Kippur, which they would stand on during the prayers. After the holy day their chassidim would gather small pieces of the straw, and this is one such piece of straw; it functions as a segula for preservation. Included is a certificate from the inheritor, Rabbi Yisrael Gavriel Adler son of the Rabbi of Torda. Size: 14x16cm. Light defects to the frame, overall good condition.
The tradition began because of the simple reason that the rebbeim would pray without shoes, and they would prostrate themselves fully on Yom Kippur, so they would place the straw as a hefsek between them and the floor because of the issur of prostrating directly on the ground. During World War I the Admor Rabbi Mordechai of Bielgoriya, the son of the Admor Rabbi Issachar Dov of Belz, became ill, and his situation was very dangerous. On Motzei Yom Kippur his father visited him and brought him a piece of straw which he had stood on during the Mussaf, and he said: “Take from this straw in your hands, place it under the pillow under your head, I pray that you will have a refuah shlema. Miraculously he was cured and arose from the bed. Ever since the chassidim would steal bits of straw after Yom Kippur (story taken from Tzintzenet HaMan, Volume 2, p. 107).
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