My Cousin Berel Baum’s Miracle Succah:

Your ancestry as a 7th path to Joy

Yisroel Susskind, Ph.D.

Sukkot, 2026

The murdered my great-grandmother during May, 1942. She was 84 years old. The Nazis were rounding up the Jews in Stropkov, Slovakia, for transport to the death camps. Yenta, nee Weinberger Susskind was the daughter of Zlata nee Rothman and Zalman Yossel Weinberger. She married my great grandfather Yankel Susskind.

(I was born ( in the U.S.) about 3 weeks later. I have had a recurring thought that for me has been emotionally powerful; namely, that a part of her soul is embedded in my soul.)

Meanwhile, during the early 1940's, in the relative “haven” of Ujhely, Hungary ( called “Ihel” in Yiddish) lived my cousin Berel Baum. Chaim Dov “Berel” Baum was the great grandson of my great-great grandfather, Yisroel Weinberger. He was also a great nephew to my great grandmother Yenta nee Weinberger Susskind.

Ujhely is about 75 miles SE from Stropkov. Hungary was not yet occupied by the Nazis and the Hungarian Jews would not be sent to concentration camps until 1944. So, in 1942, a Jew would be relatively safe if he could prove Hungarian citizenship.

Cousin Berel had a brave heart, an artistic eye and a forger’s hands. He was also a “techi”, for his time. He was determined to help the refugees fleeing Slovakia. If a Jew could prove that he had been born in Hungary, he could remain in Hungary. Otherwise, he was subject to deportation back to Slovakia.

 At great personal risk, Berel obtained the census records from the Ujhely town hall, unbound them, and inserted false pages showing many of these refugees to have been born in Hungary. As part of the process of “aging” the sheets, so that they would look comparable to the originals, he stained them with coffee.

Berel’s artistic and “techi” temperament also expressed itself in the magnificent succah that he would erect each year. People were awed by its beauty.   

In 1944-45, Berel and most of his family perished in the holocaust. His son Moshe Baum survived, moved to Canada, and had children. Emotionally scarred by the holocaust, Moshe stopped being observant. 

I visited Moshe in 2008. He was living in Toronto in the home of his daughter Linda and her wonderful husband Simon Cymbalista. Moshe had resumed being Orthodox. He felt blessed to see that his children and grandchildren were observant. 

I asked Moshe how had he returned to Jewish observance.

He told me the following: one day, during the Succot holiday, he saw a succah. Something drew him, or someone enticed him, to enter the succah. He was flooded with memories of his father’s special succah. He began his return (his teshuvah) to Judaism. 

May your knowledge of your own ancestors similarly create Joy in your life.

 Moshe passed away in May of 2014.  

May it be, that we are inspired by with the magnificent qualities of our ancestors, as Moshe was inspired by Berel. And, in the merit of that inspiration, may Hashem provide us with the Ultimate Inspiration, with the coming of Moshiach immediately.



Dr. Yisroel Susskind  is a clinical psychologist (Ph.D., Yale, 1969) who practices locally (in Monsey/Sufern, New York) and internationally (over the telephone and computer). He lectures worldwide on topics involving Torah, psychology, marriage and interpersonal relationships. He can be reached via email (dr@susspsyc.com) or by phone 845-304-5481.

If you do not receive my   

 divrei Torah regularly (about twice a month) and you would like to have them sent to your personal email, click here 

If you wish to unsubscribe, simply email the word “unsubscribe” to me.