Stories of Supporters: The Blessings of Those Who Uphold Torah
Throughout Jewish history, those who support Torah have merited extraordinary blessings—materially, spiritually, and generationally. The pasuk says, Etz Chaim Hi l’machazikim bah—“It is a Tree of Life to those who grasp it” (Mishlei 3:18). Chazal understand this to mean not only those who learn Torah—but those who enable it, support it, and stand behind it.
These are their stories.
1. The Anonymous Millionaire and the Miracle Baby
In Bnei Brak, a wealthy Jew had been married for over a decade without children. He supported dozens of avreichim in Kollel Chazon Ish but asked to remain anonymous. One night, he approached Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l and quietly asked for a bracha.
Rav Chaim asked, “Are you still supporting the kollel?” He nodded. “Then Hashem will give you a child. Just as you give life to Torah, Hashem will give life to you.”
Within a year, he and his wife had a healthy baby boy. They named him Chaim.
Source: Testimony from the family; collected in Derech Emunah – Maaseh Rav Chaim.
2. The Diamond Merchant in Antwerp
A diamond merchant in Antwerp regularly sent large donations to Torah institutions in Eretz Yisrael. Once, his business faced collapse. He called his rosh kollel in Yerushalayim, apologizing that he’d have to pause support.
The rosh kollel replied, “You’re not the supporter—we are! You give us money, but we give you merit. Don’t disconnect the pipe.”
The man changed his mind and sent the usual donation.
A few weeks later, a massive international deal—previously thought to be lost—unexpectedly reopened and was signed under his name.
Source: Story circulated through Kollel Netzach Yisrael; recorded in Zechusam Yagen Aleinu.
3. The Grocery Store in Brooklyn
In Flatbush, a small grocery store owner gave free food weekly to local kollel families. No one knew, but he kept a separate notebook labeled “Chayei Olam.”
Years later, he was offered to sell the store for over ten times its value—by a Jewish investor who, it turned out, had once been one of the kollel children eating from his shelves.
Source: Oral history shared by Rav Avraham Schorr shlit”a in a parshah shiur.
4. The Man Who Paid Every Electric Bill
In a quiet Jerusalem neighborhood, the electric company never shut off power to a certain yeshivah—because one baal tzedakah paid their electric bill every month without fail.
He once told the rosh yeshivah: “I can't learn Torah like your talmidim. But if the lights go out, no one learns. I can keep the lights on.”
When he passed away, Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l said, “He’ll be counted among the roshei yeshivah in Heaven.”
Source: Mentioned in a hesped by Rav Dovid Soloveitchik zt”l, 2009.
5. The Business Class Blessing
A businessman who regularly flew overseas for parnassah would book two tickets every trip—one for himself and one for a yungerman. They’d learn together on the flight, and he’d give the man an envelope before landing.
His business grew exponentially, but he kept quiet about the cause.
At his son’s wedding, Rav Matisyahu Solomon shlit”a whispered to him, “Your zechus travels faster than any plane.”
Source: Shared in a Yated Neeman feature, Lamed Vav Tzaddikim in Our Time.
6. The Rebbe and the Real Estate Tycoon
A wealthy Chassid once donated an entire apartment building in Beit Shemesh to be used as housing for kollel families. When he came to ask for a bracha, Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach of Belz asked him, “How did you know to invest in eternity?”
He answered, “Because buildings get old—but Torah never depreciates.”
The next year, his son—who had been struggling to find a shidduch—got engaged. To a Belzer Rebbe’s granddaughter.
Source: Shared by Rebbetzin Rokeach in a speech at the Belzer Women’s Conference, 2016.
7. The Widow and the Envelope
A widowed woman in Ashdod sent a monthly check to a small Sephardi kollel. The rosh kollel once visited to thank her, and she told him: “It’s my husband's pension. He worked hard. He wanted Torah to continue after him.”
When she passed away, her entire family—previously unaffiliated—came to the levayah, and several began keeping Shabbat.
Source: Told by Chacham David Yosef shlit”a in a hesped.
8. The Taxi Driver’s Maaser
A Yerushalmi cab driver gave 10% of every fare to a local beis medrash. He’d say, “The engine runs on gas. My life runs on zechusim.”
When he was once caught in a terrible accident, the car was totaled—but he walked out untouched.
His Rav said: “Whoever carries Torah, Torah will carry him.”
Source: Recorded in B’Emunah U’Bitachon, collected stories from Yerushalmi baalei emunah.
9. The College Kid Who Took a Chance
In New York City, a secular Jewish college student once wandered into a Torah class hosted by a local outreach program. Something clicked. He kept coming back. When his birthday came around, he received a modest check from his grandfather—$500.
He had been saving for a new pair of sneakers, but he hesitated. “Maybe I should do something bigger with this,” he thought.
He went to the outreach rabbi and said, “I want to give this to help someone else learn Torah.”
That money was used to buy seforim for a chavrusa program at the local beis midrash. One of those chavrusos led to a full-time kollel learner.
Years later, that college kid—now fully observant—was married with children and still giving tzedakah.
He once told a group of students: “My whole life changed when I gave my first gift to Torah. I thought I was giving it away. But really, I was buying my future.”
Source: Shared by a Rav in the OU-JLIC program; retold with permission.
Final Note
Many of these names are hidden—because real Torah support is rarely done for credit. But the blessings they received were very public. As the Chazon Ish wrote: "Whoever holds up the hands of Torah will be held up by Heaven."
Footnotes & Sources
- Derech Emunah – Maaseh Rav Chaim, by Rav Shimon B. Cohen, p. 172.
- Zechusam Yagen Aleinu, Kollel Netzach Yisrael publications, 2017.
- Parshas Vayeitzei, Rav Avraham Schorr, 2019 audio shiur.
- Hesped of Rav Dovid Soloveitchik zt”l, 2009.
- Yated Neeman, Feature Section, “Lamed Vav Tzaddikim in Our Time,” March 2021.
- Belzer Women’s Conference transcript, private publication, 2016.
- Hesped by Chacham David Yosef shlit”a, Ashdod, 2022.
- B’Emunah U’Bitachon, Rav A. Gelley, Yerushalayim, 2018, p. 49.
- OU-JLIC Oral Histories, shared by Rav Gavriel Friedman, 2023 seminar talk.