By Rafael Chapman

Everyone has heard of it, the adventurous dream of trying to find it, but only the most determined take action. In honor of Rav Nosson Wachtfogel’s yahrtzeit, we share the full story of the search of the Sambatyon.

 

The Mashgiach takes the initiative

An expedition to discover the long-lost river isn’t something you would expect a revered mashgiach from a formidable yeshivah to be involved in, let alone initiate. But that was the case some decades ago when the Lakewood mashgiach, Reb Nosson Wachtfogel, set an expedition to the Sambatyon in motion. This unexpected undertaking was no doubt a manifestation of the Mashgiach’s fervent desire to bring Mashiach. Reb Nosson’s longing for the coming of Mashiach was ingrained in the fibers of his very being. He didn’t just speak about biyas haMashiach, he lived it!

He viewed his stay in this country as temporary and therefore never purchased a home. When the Mashgiach came to dance at a wedding, he preferred “Achakeh Lo” to “Yamim Al Yemei Melech.” A talmid who visited the Mashgiach on a Motza’ei Shabbos observed that before the Mashgiach began Havdalah, he gazed out the window to see if perhaps Mashiach was on his way. If there was something that could be done to help bring Mashiach, Reb Nosson was going to try and make it happen regardless of the difficulties involved.

 

 

The voice of the Kol Mevaser

We find mention of the Sambatyon river throughout Chazal and the Rishonim. The Bnei Moshe, progeny of Moshe Rabbeinu, were exiled there toward the end of the first Beis Hamikdash and have been there ever since. The Vilna Gaon writes in his peirush on Shir Hashirim that the pasuk “V’alu moshiyim b’Har Tzion lishpot es Har Eisav” refers to the Bnei Moshe.

The Sambatyon River spews stones the entire week besides Shabbos. Passing over the river is impossible. During the week, it’s too dangerous because of the stones, and on Shabbos it’s not permitted because of techum Shabbos.

Over the centuries, there have been accounts of people who have come from the other side of the Sambatyon as well as those from this side who reported to have reached the Sambatyon.

One authentic report is given by Rav Shimon Horowitz, a mekubal and co-founder of the famous Shaar Hashamayim yeshivah for mekubalim in Yerushalayim. In the introduction to his sefer Kol Mevaser on the Sambatyon and the aseres hashevatim, Rabbi Horowitz encourages people to attempt to reach the Sambatyon. He writes: “I beseech all Jews to…use all available resources to…found groups in every city…by the name of Agudas Shivtei Yeshurun. And pious individuals should be chosen…to travel to the Sambatyon using the directions I provided.”

Reb Nosson heeded the heartfelt plea of the Kol Mevaser and began to set the wheels of the Sambatyon expedition in motion.

 

 

An expedition to end the exile

Reb Nosson came across the sefer Kol Mevaser all the way back in the early 1960s, when the rosh yeshivah, Rav Aharon Kotler, was still alive. He excitedly shared this newfound gem with many, but at the time, nothing came of his enthusiasm. But the Mashgiach’s idea was no passing thought. It waited decades for its hour. Finally, in 1986, Reb Nosson approached a group of yungerleit to undertake the mission of traveling to the Sambatyon.

Among the noteworthy members of the select group were Rav Kalman Krohn, Rav Dovid Lenchitz, and yl”t Rav Sholom Kamenetsky (son of Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky). The logistics involved in such a journey were very complicated, and it was Reb Dovid Lenchitz who undertook the leg work. Reb Dovid understood the magnitude of the project and knew that it would be very time-consuming. Before undertaking it, he asked Reb Nosson if he would still be allowed to receive a kollel check even though his research would require him to frequently miss seder. Reb Nosson readily agreed, encouraging his talmid to carry out his holy work.

The starting point for Rabbi Lenchitz’s research was Rabbi Horowitz’s sefer, Kol Mevaser. Rabbi Horowitz tells a story that was related by a Jewish merchant who resided in the home of the rav of Bukhara. The rav told the Jewish merchant that he was approached by an Arab traveler who possessed a jar of sand that moved on six days of the week but was still on Shabbos. The merchant claimed that the sand originated from the Sambatyon river. The rav pleaded with the man to sell him the jar. The Arab refused, but he did give the rav detailed directions on how to reach the Sambatyon. These directions—which Rabbi Horowitz included in his recounting of the story—served as an invaluable asset in Rabbi Lenchitz’s research.

 

 

A Worthy Visitor

Later in the sefer, Rabbi Horowitz also tells of a story that took place about a decade after his attempt to find the Sambatyon. In the year 1912, a Yid belonging to the Reichavim, a tribe living near the Sambatyon, appeared in Eretz Yisrael. The Yid cam to relay an important message from the Bnei Moshe and asked to speak to a mekubal.

Rabbi Horowitz was contacted and immediately went to greet the man. Upon conversing with him, Rabbi Horowitz realized that this was no ordinary person, and he asked that he return with him to Yeshivah Shaar Hashamayim where there were more mekubalim, and the man acquiesced. At the yeshivah, he met with a select group of mekubalim, including Rav Chaim Leib Auerbach, father of Rav Shlomo Zalman and co-founder of the yeshivah, and Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank.

What was said at that meeting is unknown, but the mekubalim drafted a letter for this messenger to return to the Bnei Moshe. (A copy of this letter is printed in the Kol Mevaser on pg. 80.) The letter, however, never reached its intended recipients. On his way back to the Bnei Moshe, the messenger traveled through Turkey. There, he was accused of spying and was hanged.

 

 

Reb Dovid made use of the directions provided by the Kol Mevaser, but he realized that for the group to reach the Sambatyon, more up-to-date maps would be needed. In those days, accessing maps of East Asian countries such as China and Tibet was no simple task. Rabbi Lenchitz made the long trek to the American Geographical Society in Manhattan, where he made copies of archival US military and Nazi maps of the area provided in the Kol Mevaser. Countless hours of pouring over the new maps led him to believe that the Sambatyon was located somewhere on what was then the China-Tibet border.

 

It’s interesting to note that Rabbi Lenchitz isn’t the only one who believed the Sambatyon to be in that place. More recently, a Rabbi Chinigal of Tzfas attempted an expedition to the same region. He had reason to believe that he was on the right track, but he too was forced to turn back before fully exploring the region.

 

 

Getting over the logistical hurdles

Locating the area to search for the Sambatyon was only the first step. There were many logistical hurdles that had to be overcome. Gaining access to the China-Tibet border required visa facilitation and permits from the Chinese communist government. But Rabbi Lenchitz persevered.

Another difficulty was the terrain. The remote region that they would be exploring was difficult to navigate, as there were no paved roads and much of the travel would have to be by donkey. To help alleviate this issue, Reb Nosson spoke with Reb Moshe Sherer, then President of Agudas Yisroel of America, who assured them that there would be a helicopter for them in China to help them navigate the area. This would give them the advantage of a bird’s eye view and would hopefully lead them to their destination. Perhaps the most intriguing question was how to get across. Rabbi Lenchitz is reported to have said: “I didn’t know what the plan was; I was relying on getting instructions from the Mashgiach after we arrived.”

 

 

The opinion of the gedolim

As preparations were being made for the trip, the members of the group asked the gedolei hador to give their opinion on the unique expedition. When Reb Dovid Lenchitz asked the Manchester rosh yeshivah his opinion, he replied by saying, “Ich veis nisht vos dos iz (I don’t know what this is).”

Reb Sholom asked his grandfather Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, but Rav Yaakov abstained from offering an opinion on the matter altogether. Rav Sholom Schwadron, with whom Reb Kalman Krohn had a very close connection, told Reb Kalman “I assur (forbid) you to go!”

And when the Mashgiach was asked why he didn’t seek the opinion of Rav Shach on this important matter, he said, “Rav Shach will tell me, ‘Vu kumt di katz iber di vasser—How does the cat get over the water?” meaning, “That’s impossible!” or “How are you going to do that?”

The cold response from the gedolim didn’t deter the Mashgiach. He was determined to do whatever he could to help hasten the Geulah.

 

 

Tragedy strikes

Just as the expedition was preparing to embark, Reb Dovid Lenchitz was in a serious car accident. Thankfully, he was spared from any significant injury. This occurred on Chol Hamo’ed Sukkos, and for the rest of his life Rabbi Lenchitz celebrated with a seudas hoda’ah. Though shaken from the accident, Rabbi Lenchitz was physically unharmed and still able to undertake the journey. He breathed a sigh of relief; his hard work had been inches away from being a fleeting dream.

But then tragedy struck again, this time in the form of a fire in the Lenchitz home. The house incurred significant damage, but baruch Hashem, no one was hurt, and the precious maps were also spared from the raging flames.

The troubles persisted, this time in the form of a severe ear infection that required hospitalization. During his hospital stay, Rabbi Lenchitz overheard disheartening news coming from over his roommate’s bed. The year was 1988, and a conflict had broken out on the China-Tibet border. The Chinese were trying to suppress ongoing Tibetan protesters at Lhasi, and as a result, they restricted travel to the region. The trip would have to be postponed.

Rabbi Lenchitz recovered, but he was left with doubts. Had all these hardships come because of his planned mission to the long-lost river? Shortly after Rabbi Lenchitz was released from the hospital, he came across excerpts from various sefarim that discouraged the idea of a trip to discover the Sambatyon. It was all coming together. To Rabbi Lenchitz this seemed like the capstone to his involvement in the expedition.

Rabbi Lenchitz conferred with Reb Nosson, and the Mashgiach agreed that a message was being sent from Shamayim: The time is not ripe. The expedition about which Reb Nosson had been so hopeful was never launched. It was not meant to be.

 

 

Epilogue

Reb Nosson’s spearheading of the Sambatyon expedition was intended to speed up the ultimate Geulah. While it’s not clear precisely how this would have happened, one thing is certain: Reb Nosson wanted to arouse Heavenly mercy through his longing for Mashiach. And this is something that we can all emulate by living with the reality of achakeh lo b’chol yom sheyavo.

Information for this article was compiled using the sefer Kol Mevaser, a recorded interview of Reb Dovid Lenchitz graciously provided by his family, and a live interview with Rabbi Avrohom Zelasko, Rabbi Lenchitz’s son-in-law.