Chassidic leaders revealed the sanctity concealed within the personal belongings of tzaddikim, and that they have the power to bring about great salvation. It is told in the name of Rabbi Mordechai of Nezkizh, zy”a, that he said regarding thevessel given to him by his rabbi, Rabbi Michel of Zlotshov, zy”a: “This vessel gives the power to do miracles and wonders …” (Divrei Binah leaf 47). The source of the importance of the tzaddik’s personal belongings was brought
long ago in the name of the Ba’al Shem Tov, by his grandson, author of Degel
Machaneh Ephraim (in parashat Bo): “… All that a person has – his slaves, his
servants, his livestock and even all his vessels, are all his sparks, belonging
to the root of his soul.”
Even the Chatam Sofer, who is not counted among Chassidim, writes in parashat
Toldot: It can be understood from the Yerushalmi that a person’s garments are
infused with the wearer’s sanctity, and he who wears them after him will be
infused with the same spirit for the better, the secret of his sons wearing them
after him …
Siddur Brachot VeHodaot, Ashkenaz – the siddur from which Rabbi Moshe Feinstein prayed for years. Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac Tirnauer [rabbi of the Shomrei Shabbos synagogue in Boro Park] gifted Rabbi Moshe Feinstein with a new siddur. He received this, his old siddur, in return – one from which Rabbi Moshe Feinstein prayed for many years. The siddur is in very fine condition, although it has usage marks. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986) was one of the greatest halachic authorities in the period following the Holocaust. He was chairman of Agudat Yisrael of America’s Council of Torah Sages, and rosh yeshivah Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in New York. He is also known for his responsa series, Iggerot Moshe. Provenance of the siddur’s chronology included.