This portion of the Lisker story is from the 1969 book by Menashe Unger, which was written in Hebrew. The translation of the book's title is "Illuminaries: In Memoriam." We are most grateful to Noam Lifschitz for discovering this book in Yeshiva University's library. Our thanks also go to Judy Perlman for providing the English translation.
There are some discrepancies between the dates in this story and the Lisker story translated by Judith Friedlander. Nevertheless, it is a small document of important historical significance, not only to the Friedlander family, but to the Jewish community, as well.
When the Germans coordinated the exact plan for the destruction of the Jewish people, which they adopted even before World War II, they already had in their hands lists of Jewish secular and spiritual leaders that they used when they entered into a specific city. Immediately, the Germans began by arresting or pressuring these individuals to work with them.

And so it was when the Germans entered Hungary and occupied Liska. They immediately arrested our master and teacher Rabbi Hershel Friedlander of Liska, who was a man of halacha and Kabbalah, author of the book The Righteous Gate, on tehillim, and many other works on halacha, responsa, and Hasidism, that remained handwritten.

Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Friedlander of Liska was the firstborn son of our master and teacher Rabbi Chaim, son of Rabbi Moshe Friedlander, who served as a rabbi in Kleinverdan, and the son-in-law of the first Rabbi Zvi Hirsch of Liska.

The dynasty of Liska drew is spiritual sustenance from our master and teacher Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Ujhely.

Our old master and teacher, Rabbi Hirsch of Liska, claimed descent from Rabbi Yehuda the Hasid. It was said that his father, Rabbi Aharon, was one of the 36 hidden tzadikim. His mother, Sara, was famous for her good works and peity. It was her custom to bake bread and divide it among the poor yeshiva students. Tradition among the Hasidim of Hungary related that on account of this she was granted a son who was a genius and a tzadik because Rabbi Levi of Berditchev, who was once in Hungary, gave her a blessing that she would give birth to a son who would light up the eyes of the world.

The first Rabbi Zvi Hirsch of Liska was born in Iyar, 1808, in a village near Ujhely. In 1816, when he was eight, his father died and his mother Sara was left a poor widow. During his father's lifetime they made their home in Ujhely and Rabbi Zvi, who was even then widely known as a prodigy, established his behavior according to the way of the author of Moses Will Rejoice, our master and teacher Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Ujhely, and would listen to his experienced divrei torah. One day the rabbi arranged for Rabbi Zvi Hirsch to have a shiur with his grandson, Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda, author of Yetev Lev, our Master and teacher from Sighet.

Thus was Rabbi Hirsch graced in the courtyard of our master and teacher from Ujhely, and after his wedding he became the Rabbi of Liska.

The great masters and teachers in his generation highly esteemed Rabbi Hirsch. The Hasidim say that once Rabbi Hirsch came to Rabbi Meirel of Premishlan for Shabbat. On Saturday night, when he was parting from the Hasidim, Rabbi Meirel took out a note from the pocket of his robe, handed it to Rabbi Hirsch, and said: "A certain Yehuda gave me this note and wishes Hirschele to read it."

The Hasidim stood around the table and were curious to see what Rabbi Hirsch would do.

Rabbi Hirsch took the note and read it. Rabbi Meirel didn't take his eyes off of him. When Rabbi Hirsch finished reading the note, Rabbi Meirel said to him, "Meirel sees that Hirschele knows how to read the note. He is filled with ruach hakodesh (the holy spirit)."

And so Rabbi Meirel of Premishlan gave smicha to Rabbi Hirsch of Liska and he became master and teacher of thousands of Hasidim.

Rabbi Hirsch was a man of great tzedakah. All the pidyon ha'ben money he received from the Hasidim he divided among the poor.

One time, his wife Krincha complained: "Why did he distribute to the poor all the money that he received from Hasidim at the pidyon ha'ben ceremonies?" Rabbi Hirsch replied to her: "Is it your will that I give you money that is not mine? I am just the gabbai of tzedakah to distribute among the poor."

Rabbi Hirsch was the author of the book, Achpretvia: The Fruits of Profit,[1] on the Torah, and the book The Straight and the Good,[2] on droshas and interpretations. These two books were published by his grandson, Rabbi Zev Wolff. In this way the book The Good and Righteous Ways, stories and legends about Rabbi Hirsch of Liska were published. Our master and teacher Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz gave his approval to the book in 1874.

Rabbi Hirsch of Liska used to say: "I hate the 'mitzvot' and 'trespasses' that are on the mouths of people. People say, 'It's a mitzva to extort from so-and-so' or 'It's a sin to do a kindness for so-and-so,' 'these mitzvas and trespasses,' these I hate."
Rabbi Hirsch of Liska died on the 14th of Av, 1874, and after his death his son-in-law Rabbi Chaim became our master and teacher.

Rabbi Chaim died on the 9th of Iyar, 1904. He was the author of the following books: The Dew of Life and Blessings, about the study of six different Mishnayot (Premishlan 1898) and The Dew of Life, about the Torah (Batlan 1909).

After his death, his son Rabbi Hirsch became our master and teacher. Rabbi Hirsch of Liska the second was born in 1874 close to the death of his grandfather, after whom he was called. He served as rabbi with much pride. Rabbi Hirsch was a "gadol" (great one) of the Torah and maintained a yeshiva in Liska, and was also famous as a miracle-maker.

When the Nazis entered Liska in March 1944, our master and teacher was near the age of seventy. His oldest son, Rabbi Shlomo — who today is our master and teacher in the United States — at that time lived in Budapest, and dispatched a special messenger to save his father. In Liska, there was already a ghetto and no Jew from outside was permitted to enter it. Because of this, the son sent a Hungarian officer to take his father, our old master and teacher, from the ghetto and bring him to Budapest.

The Jews in Budapest felt themselves a bit freer. There, the Nazis were not as rigid with their rules as they were in the small towns.

But our master and teacher, the older rabbi, refused to leave the ghetto and preferred to stay with the members of his congregation (he felt it took priority).

After that, the Nazis transported the Jews from the ghetto to Ujhely. Rabbi Shlomo, our master and teacher's son, tried a second time to save his father, and again, sent the Hungarian officer to take his father, our master and teacher, and his sons secretly from the Ujhely ghetto. But again our master and teacher refused.

Hasidim who were with the Liska rebbe in the Ujhely ghetto and who remained alive tell that they more than once heard from his own mouth, "My heart pains me, why were we sentenced to burn!"

At around the same time, the Nazis had already begun to reveal their murderous plans. One day, the SS entered the ghetto of Ujhely and took our master and teacher the rabbi of Liska and cut off his beard.

Hasidim say that the rabbi cried like a child.

The Nazis sent a number of Jews in transports to Auschwitz, and in one of these was our master and teacher, the rabbi of Liska and his family, about twenty souls.

This was on Thursday. Another of our master and teacher, one of the rabbi of Liska's Hasidim, Rabbi Baruch, was in the same car and was saved by a miracle. Rabbi Baruch told that one gabbai took a bottle of wine with him into the car, so that there would be wine for the rabbi to make kiddush and havdalah. Our master and teacher the rabbi of Liska said to Rabbi Baruch: "Divide the wine among the children, for we will not need wine for havdalah again."

Rabbi Baruch relates [3] that it was a Shabbat, the 27th of Iyar 1944, when the children were desperate for water, Rabbi Hirsch ordered Rabbi Baruch to divide the Havdalah wine among the children and in truth, even before the end of Shabbat, our master and teacher, the rabbi of Liska and three of his sons and their families were killed, along with other Jews in the ovens of Auschwitz, al pi kiddush hashem, may the Lord revenge his blood!
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1 Published in Monkatsch in 1875. 2nd edition in 1898. 3rd edition in 1961.
2 Monkatsch, 1880.
3 In the introduction to his book A Perfect Love,which was connected to their grandfather's book, Achpretvia: The Fruits of Profit, Bronx, 1961.