In Surany, a small town in Slovakia, Mordechai Miller was born in 1927. Growing up, little Mordechai was amazed by his neighbor, the town’s bookbinder.
He watched the bookbinder as he skilfully repaired old and worn out holy books, bringing them back to their original state. The part he most cherished was the final kiss once the book was completed.
Mordechai’s father procured him a visa for the Holy Land in 1943 with the condition that he would go learn in the Yeshiva of Rabbi Dushinski.
Growing up by himself, Mordechai compared himself to Adam, he never forgot his old neighbor and the work he did, he wanted to continue the legacy of the holy books, and so he did. Miller books became a household name in the Jewish world.
On the night before the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, Mordechai with his wife, son and daughter in law, traveled to Italy for a well-deserved vacation. He also brought with him the Venice Hagaddah from 1629 that he reproduced by hand and printed.
After arriving in Rome, he stayed over in a hotel, in middle of the night he woke up his wife, he wasn’t feeling well. He was raced to the hospital but his situation was too critical, within a few hours he passed away.
Rabbi Lazar was called to the hospital in the morning of the eve of Pesach, he helped in the attempts to fly the family and maybe the body back to Israel before the holiday, but unfortunately, the Miller family had to celebrate the holiday in Rome.
They celebrated the Pesach Seder with Chabad and over 100 Jews from all corners of the world, once the holiday was over they traveled back to Israel.