“Why Did You Shame My Tefillin?”

There is a famous machlokes between Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam regarding the proper position of the last two parshios of tefillin. According to Rashi the third parshah is שמע ישראל followed by והיה אם שמוע. Rabbeinu Tam holds that והיה אם שמוע is the third parshah followed by שמע ישראל. Since the Shulchan Aruch writes that a G-dfearing person will wear both sets of tefillin, Rav Chaim Volozhiner, zt”l, wondered whether he should wear both pairs. When the Vilna Gaon advised that people should wear specifically Rashi tefillin the entire day, Rav Chaim asked him about tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam. “Since מר wears tefillin all day, it is understandable why he wears specifically Rashi since to put on Rabbeinu Tam even for a short time means missing that amount of time with Rashi tefillin which are the halachah. But someone like me who anyway goes for hours every day without tefillin should probably wear Rabbeinu Tam as prescribed by the Shulchan Aruch…” But the Vilna Gaon disagreed. “If so, you will need to wear sixty-four pairs of tefillin to fulfill this mitzvah according to all of the existing varieties of opinion…” Rav Chaim protested, “Yet in the Zohar we find that Rabbeinu Tam tefillin relate to the world to come?” The Vilna Gaon rejected this claim as well. “Firstly, that is not the pshat in the Zohar. Secondly, let one whose entire purpose in life is to attain the world to come wear them…” From that day on, Rav Chaim stopped wearing Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. Interestingly, towards the end of his life the Chofetz Chaim began to wear Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. When asked why he took this on he replied, “I am planning for the near future when I will go to the olam haemes. When there I will meet Rabbeinu Tam and he will likely ask, ‘Yisrael Meir. You learned an abundance of my Tosafos and you found my reasoning sound, imparting much vitality. Why did you shame my tefillin?’”

Partners in Torah

When someone wondered whether it was really worth it to make a Yissachar and Zevulun agreement with someone and asked Rav Shach, zt”l, he found that the rav was in favor.
Rav Shach answered, “You lose nothing by making such an arrangement. Therefore, even if you are eking by on your own, you should still sign this agreement, since the extra money will enable you to learn better since you will have less pressure from money, which leads to more mental clarity.
He added, “You need not worry about losing a portion of your eternal reward in the next world, since the reward of Torah in the next world is eternal and cannot be diminished by sharing it with another.”
To another student Rav Shach explained, “When it comes to making such an agreement we can apply the dictum of our sages, 'זה נהנה וזה לא חסר'—‘This one gains and the other loses nothing by it.’”
Rav Shach would also encourage laymen to take the initiative to support Torah study. “When a person who supports those who study Torah leaves the physical world—even if he himself never learned anything—he will know all the Torah that was learned with his support. You must know that the greatest bliss will be afforded those who learned Torah and those who supported those who learned.
He added, “If you think about it you will understand that if one was able to pay to know a mishnah or chapter or even a complete tractate, he would surely be willing to pay anything he could afford—even in this world where we don’t see the pristine greatness of Torah. How much more will this be true in the next world, where we will see the holiness and preciousness of every word of Torah. Surely, the one who gained the Torah will be thrilled with the Torah waiting for him, especially if he himself was unable to learn as is fitting.
“When a person thinks about this, he will surely race after those who learn to attain the merit of Torah. I am sure you will take these words—which emerge from the holy works of the Choftez Chaim—to heart and merit all the wondrous reward of those who support Torah.”

In Private and in Public

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, gives an excellent parable to encourage us to stay away from groups of people who indulge in lashon hara. “Imagine if ten people were once sitting together when the police rushed in and arrested one of them for some serious crimes. To their chagrin they are also taken in for questioning since they are obviously friendly with the criminal.
‘”When, after enduring hours of grueling interrogation, they are finally freed, you can be certain that they will be very careful to avoid being in the company of someone they even remotely suspect is a criminal. Why should they suffer for another’s misdemeanors?
“Similarly, when we are drawn to join a group of baalei lashon hara, we must consider the immense losses endured by a member of such a group. Very often there are one or two people who love to gossip and share all the lashon hara they can gather. But surely every person who is part of this group will suffer for being present during the sins of these unfortunate souls! We must internalize this fact and use it to resist the pull of time spent listening to lashon hara. Surely we have enough sins of our own to deal with in the next world; why should we accept even partial liability for another’s sins?”
On another occasion, the Chofetz Chaim explained the vast damage caused even by lashon hara told over in private. “If you want to send a letter to someone you may hardly know, you must first find out his correct address. Then you need to write the letter and send it. Some letters never reach the intended parties since people sometimes change addresses.
“But when one speaks slander, even in private, about someone he may not even know, the damage is virtually guaranteed. He may not have said the name, merely hinted at it, and he may not know his exact address but he can be sure that his slander will eventually reach the subject. Such is the power of slander!”

Residents of the Land

It is well known that the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, yearned to move the Eretz Yisrael with all of his soul, and even made several plans to leave the diaspora for the holy land. The residents of Eretz Yisrael were so excited when they heard about this that they even built a shul for him. Sadly, his desire never came to fruition.
When the Chofetz Chaim’s son, Rav Leib, visited Eretz Yisrael and then returned to galus, his father rebuked him. “Why didn’t you stay? Returning was nothing more than a foolish mistake. We are in the time known as ikvesa d’mishichah, the end of days. When Moshiach finally arrives, we cannot be sure that we will have the merit to even enter eretz Yisrael. But if we are already living in the land before Moshiach arrives we can feel secure that we will not be evicted from our home...”
When Rav Yashar, z”l, recounted this story he commented, “One may well wonder about the Chofetz Chaim’s source for this surprising teaching. I believe that his source is from the gemara. In Kesuvos 111 we find that the land and holiness of Eretz Yisrael is compared to the altar. This is learned from the proof that one who is buried in Eretz Yisrael is considered as if he is buried under the mizbeach. We see this from the verse. On the one hand we find, 'וכיפר אדמתו עמו' and it also says, 'מזבח אדמה תעשה לי'. This equates the land of Eretz Yisrael to the altar.
“Since we find in Zevachim 84 that what is brought up on the altar is not removed except under exceptional circumstances, it seems clear that the same is true of one who is already in Eretz Yisrael before Moshiach comes!”

The Nature of Humility

Our sages teach that even a tzaddik who is haughty will lose out in the next world, since Hashem will only crown those tzaddikim who have true humility. When Rav Shmuel Rosenberg of Unsdorf, zt”l, traveled to Kashoi for Shabbos he was met with vast honor which caused him no end of pain. On Shabbos, he explained, “Now I understand why we ask Hashem to give us honor in Birkas Hachodesh. Honor causes an honest person pain since he knows that he doesn’t deserve it at all. Nowpain in itself atones for sin and it also makes one have a broken heart which leads to teshuvah. It is because honor is such a wonderful catalyst to enable any thinking person to return to his Source that we beseech Hashem for honor.
He went on, “Rav Meir of Premishlan, zt”l, once explained the verse in Tehillim in a similar fashion, applying it specifically to when people are given honor while they travel. The verse states: 'ואדם ביקר'—when a person gets יקר, honor, 'בל ילין'—and he ‘does not take time to repose’ and consider his ways in the tent of teshuvah, 'נמשל כבהמות נדמו'—he is no better than a thoughtless beast!”
As is well known, the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, would run away from any honor. Once his son asked whether this was really the proper path to take. “After all, each month in Birkas Hachodesh we ask Hashem for a life of wealth and honor?”
The Chofetz Chaim explained that his son really had not understood the true intent of that line of davening. “This is a request for the klal that Jews be wealthy and respected. Similarly, we find in the Yomim Noraim prayers, 'ותן כבוד לעמך'. It is not a request that one be more distinguished than an average Jew!”

The Place of Baalei Teshuvah

Once Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, zt”l, met a Jewish sinner in the street. To the man’s surprise, Rav Levi Yitzcak grabbed him and lovingly exclaimed, “Do teshuvah and I will be very jealous of your stature. As is well known, you have sinned greatly. But our sages teach that that one who repents out of love transforms his sins to merits. If you change all your sins to merits you will be way ahead of me!”
When the Sifsei Tzaddikim, zt”l, records this story he adds, “It is possible to apply to this the famous gemara that even absolute tzaddikim cannot stand in the place of baalei teshuvah.”
But the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, once explained this statement differently. “If a tzaddik gives a sinner moral direction the sinner may well think or even say, ‘Easy for him to tell me to change, since he has never tasted the pleasure of the sin he warns about.’
“However, a baal teshuvah who gives moral direction properly is often much more effective. He can say, ‘My precious fellow Jews! I have sinned plenty in my life and I know what it feels like. Nevertheless, I have seen that all sin leads to absolute emptiness. Living a life of sin merely harms one’s soul while affording no true benefit. On the contrary: being shackled to sinful behavior, like heretical thoughts or illicit desires, brings one to depression and ruins his life. Is it any surprise that I decided to let go of such harmful behavior and do teshuvah? I appeal to you, too, to return to the straight path of righteousness.’
“This is why the gemara tell us that a tzaddik cannot stand in the place of baal teshuvah. This means that he cannot be an example to a sinner to change. But a baal teshuvah has a much better chance of standing up as an example to which even a hardened sinner can relate!”

For the Sake of Heaven

“How great is an action for the sake of heaven!”
The Chofetz Chaim exclaimed this and explained that that we learn it from a statement of our sages. “If one offers a gift to a king of flesh and blood, he must consider the possibility that his gift will be rejected. And even if the king accepts his gift, he cannot know how much of an impact it will make on him; perhaps in the king’s eyes, his gift will be of little consequence. But to Hashem, every good action done for His honor is very precious.
“Our sages recount that when the king of Bavel sent a letter to Chizkiyahu Hamelech he wrote, ‘Shalom to King Chizkiyahu, Shalom to Yerushalayim, Shalom to the great Hashem.’ Nevuchadnezzar, who was at that time the Babylonian king’s usual scribe, had not been present when the letter was drafted. When he returned and heard the above text it upset him. “The ‘great Hashem’ should be first! We must write instead, ‘Shalom to the great Hashem, Shalom to King Chizkiyahu, Shalom to Yerushalayim. Nevuchadnezzar then ran a few steps after the messenger and called him back, giving them a letter with his text instead.
“In the merit of this slight exertion, he became king of the entire world and was given many other benefits listed there. From this we see the greatness of every action that we perform for the sake of heaven. Is it so difficult to pay attention to our many mitzvos and focus on acting for the sake of heaven? We will fulfill them regardless. It is surely worthwhile to add the simple thought that we wish our deeds to be for the sake of heaven!”

For the Sake of Heaven

Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, recounted that when his former Mashgiach, Rav Eliyahu Dushnitzer, zt”l, was in Minsk there was a seemingly simple man who was a pharmacist by trade who very much attracted his attention. Interestingly, every holy endeavor in the town was invariably brought to the fore by this pharmacist, who was the driving force for them all.
Rav Dushintzer asked the pharmacist how he had merited this unusual distinction.
The pharmacist recounted the following fascinating story:
“One time, the Chofetz Chaim was in Minsk and needed to purchase some medicine. Naturally, he found his way to my pharmacy and asked me for what he needed. After he paid for the medication he exclaimed, ‘I am jealous of you; every instant of the day you are involved in saving lives!’
“I was a bit embarrassed by this accolade and told him the truth. ‘This is just my way of supporting my family.’ But the Chofetz Chaim rejected this attitude out of hand. ‘You must be mechavein l’shem shamayim and l’shem mitzvah. Although it is true that you are forced to take money to support your family, you must always remember the greatness of what you are doing and focus on this.’”
The pharmacist concluded, “Ever since then I have made this my avodah, and now I can honestly say that I live for devarim she’b’kedushah. Over the years I have slowly gotten involved in different projects to raise the spiritual level of the community until I am as you see me here today.”
With just a little focus and spiritual awareness one can easily become a person who is rosh v’rishon lichol davar she’bikedushah!

Kosher Shabbos Protests

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, advocated protesting against flagrant Shabbos violation in his times. Nevertheless, he had certain general rules that he followed to ensure that his rebukes were as effective as possible. The first rule was to avoid protesting on Shabbos itself. He explained that while Jews are involved in sinning it is much more difficult to convince them to change. As the Mishnah famously states in Avos: "עבירה גוררת עבירה"—“One sin draws another in its wake.” When Jews are involved in sin, they find it much easier to sin again by disregarding the protestor—or worse, by falling into outright sinful behavior to retaliate. And the Chofetz Chaim would say that the inverse also holds true. The Chofetz Chaim would tell those who went around selling his sefarim to bring them to shuls after davening. He reasoned that after having davened with a minyan, people would be much more likely to do the mitzvah of purchasing a sefer on guarding their speech.
Not surprisingly, the Shabbos protests lodged by the Chofetz Chaim were very effective. On one occasion, he went to a certain city with his brother-in-law to raise money for the yeshiva in Radin. When he heard that the Jews there did not keep Shabbos he wanted to leave immediately, but the locals begged him to remain so as not to shame their city. Instead of asking for donations from money tainted by chilul Shabbos, the Chofetz Chaim stayed a couple of weeks and gave three fiery derashos for the thousands of Jewish residents. In each of them he discussed the terrible ills of chilul Shabbos and the vast spiritual attainments of keeping Shabbos.
Later, when the Chofetz Chaim recounted this story to his son, he remarked, “Boruch Hashem, as a result of those derashos, three hundred stores closed for Shabbos! When people heard about this it made a great kiddush Hashem.”

Protecting the Honor of Shabbos

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, advocated protesting against flagrant Shabbos violation in his times. Nevertheless, he had certain general rules that he followed to ensure that his rebukes were as effective as possible. The first rule was to avoid protesting on Shabbos itself. He explained that while Jews are involved in sinning it is much more difficult to convince them to change. As the Mishnah famously states in Avos: "עבירה גוררת עבירה"—“One sin draws another in its wake.” When Jews are involved in sin, they find it much easier to sin again by disregarding the protestor—or worse, by falling into outright sinful behavior to retaliate. And the Chofetz Chaim would say that the inverse also holds true. The Chofetz Chaim would tell those who went around selling his sefarim to bring them to shuls after davening. He reasoned that after having davened with a minyan, people would be much more likely to do the mitzvah of purchasing a sefer on guarding their speech.
Not surprisingly, the Shabbos protests lodged by the Chofetz Chaim were very effective. On one occasion, he went to a certain city with his brother-in-law to raise money for the yeshiva in Radin. When he heard that the Jews there did not keep Shabbos he wanted to leave immediately, but the locals begged him to remain so as not to shame their city. Instead of asking for donations from money tainted by chilul Shabbos, the Chofetz Chaim stayed a couple of weeks and gave three fiery derashos for the thousands of Jewish residents. In each of them he discussed the terrible ills of chilul Shabbos and the vast spiritual attainments of keeping Shabbos.
Later, when the Chofetz Chaim recounted this story to his son, he remarked, “Boruch Hashem, as a result of those derashos, three hundred stores closed for Shabbos! When people heard about this it made a great kiddush Hashem.”

Honoring One’s Parents

Rav Borodiansky shlit”a (the son-in-law of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l) relates that all of Rav Auerbach’s efforts to clarify the halachos of using electricity on Shabbos were inspired by his desire to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring his mother. She required a hearing aid, and avoided using it on Shabbos because of fear of violating the halachah. When Rav Shlomo Zalman ztz”l saw how pained she was by being cut off from everyone around her, he did his absolute utmost to make this very complex area of halachah more clear.
Rav Shlomo Bloch zt”l once received a letter from an old friend with whom he had learned in Novardok, asking that he bring his question before the Chofetz Chayim zt”l. His friend was an unmarried man of twenty-six, but wore his beard long and it made him look about forty years old. He had received a letter from his father commanding him to shave. He would like to know what he must do—does he have to listen to his father in such a case? The Chofetz Chayim began by asking Rav Shlomo, “Is he normal?” When Rav Shlomo answered in the affirmative, the Chofetz Chayim began to groan, “Such hard things a father puts on his child?!” The Chofetz Chayim then said, “I cannot answer the question, for that he will need to ask Rav Chayim Brisker, but I can give him some advice. He should write to his father that since his whole demand that his son shave is so that he should be marriageable, well, he only wants to marry a girl who is looking for a boy with a beard! And if he shaves, he will not find the kind of girl that he is looking for.” The advice that the Chofetz Chayim gave worked, and not much time passed before the young man got married and became a Rav in a small town.

A Temporary Remedy

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, recounted that once a certain gadol hador encountered a student who had been very diligent in the past but had fallen from his former good habits. The gadol rebuked him gently, “My esteemed pupil, it is true that you now have many children and can no longer learn like you once did. But why not at least learn one daf a day or a chapter of mishnayos like the rest of the baal habatim in your community?”
“I am used to learning ten daf a day in ten hours,” the former masmid explained. “When I am able to make the time I will go back to this. But what is one daf or a chapter of mishnayos for someone like me?”
The gadol tried to dispel his former student’s error with a parable. “Once, a certain person was very ill and after extensive treatment the doctor warned him that he must not go to the bathhouse for a full year since the heat and humidity could kill him. After a few months the sick man’s desire to go to the bathhouse overcame his natural caution and he went despite the doctor’s orders. While he was there he started to fall ill from overheating just like the doctor had warned and he realized that he must cool himself off immediately. He recalled that there was a cooler mikveh in one part of the bathhouse and he rushed to it, only to find the gate locked. But when someone noticed he was not well he immediately rushed outside and brought back a bucket of water from outside, with which he sprinkled this man’s heart and head to somewhat revive him. This sick man would surely never think to refuse this little bit of water because he really needs to immerse in the pool of cooler water. He needs whatever he can get and hopes it will be enough to revive him. The same is true with you. If you can’t learn with diligence, at the very least you should learn a daf a day since this will give you some relief in the next world. Every daf gemara or mishnah will be a great source of joy in the ultimate future!”

The Characteristic of a Fool…

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, would often take people to task for not devoting enough time to learning. Whenever he would notice an expensive and unnecessary ornament gracing a former student’s home, he would bemoan, “I don’t see a carpet, or drapes, or what have you. I see pages and pages of Gemara!”
He once offered a novel explanation of the importance of making full use of every moment for study. “The Gemara says in Chagigah 4a that one of the characteristics of a fool is that he habitually loses that which he is given. The halacha follows the Tosefta that Rav Papa cites, that one who always loses that which he is given is a fool.
The Chofetz Chaim then cried out, “There is nothing more precious than time! You can’t buy more for all the money in the world! In the course of a single minute, one can say two hundred words. Each word is a mitzvah in itself. How can one waste the time for the purchase of luxuries? Even worse, how can one be such a fool as to let it slip away through simple carelessness?”
Of course, there are other lessons that can be learned from this Gemara. A certain “chossid shoteh” once came to the Maggid of Kozhnitz, zt”l, and asked for a segulah to help him find an object that he had lost. The man had foolishly left his belonging unattended in a public place, and it was almost certainly stolen because of his irresponsibility. Even so, the man exhibited no awareness that he had caused his own trouble and still sought the item.
The Maggid said with some asperity, “Go home and say ‘Eizehu’ three times. That is your segulah.”
Without a second thought, the man went home and recited Eizehu Mekoman three times with painstaking kavanah, but nothing happened. His lost object failed to materialize.
He returned to the Maggid with a complaint. “I recited Eizehu three times just as you said, but nothing came of it. I still haven’t found my aveidah!”
The Maggid answered curtly, “I didn’t mean Eizehu in Zevachim. I meant in Chagigah! Eizehu shoteh hameabed mah shenosnim lo!”

Self-Sacrifice for Shabbos

A certain person once decided to emigrate to America from Poland. Since he lived near the Chofetz Chaim it was only natural for him to seek a blessing from the tzaddik before embarking on his journey. The great sage agreed to bless his endeavor on one condition: “You must promise never to violate the sanctity of Shabbos, and to seal it with a handshake.”
The man readily agreed and received the tzaddik’s effusive brochah.
He traveled to Baltimore and quickly found a job washing windows. After an extended period working in the company, his boss suddenly insisted that he begin to come in on Shabbos. The immigrant would not hear of this and refused. Predictably, his employer fired him on the spot.
The next week the man began searching for a job but found nothing. After a month of fruitless seeking, things started getting tight financially. When three months had passed without work, his situation was hardly bearable. After several months had transpired, the man was virtually starving.
One Shabbos after shul he decided to give in and work on Shabbos. After all, their destitution constituted a serious question of pikuach nefesh for himself and his wife and children.
He decided that he would approach his old boss and ask for his old job back on whatever terms were offered. But as he walked to his old place of employment he suddenly recalled that he had promised the Chofetz Chaim that he would not work on Shabbos no matter what.
He realized that although his family had much less food then they required, they would not literally starve and he was therefore obligated to keep Shabbos. He turned around and went home to his dismal Shabbos table.
That very night, his boss came to his door with another man. “Six months ago I told this gentleman that you would sacrifice to keep the Shabbos no matter what it took. He doubted this and we wagered to give you six months with no employment to see who was right. Today was the last day and I won the bet.”
His boss took a wad of bills out of his pocket and said, “Here is your full salary for the last six months. And of course you are welcome back to your job starting tomorrow!”

Returned to Sender

When the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, was young he was forced to teach to make a living. Although he could certainly have held a respectable position as the rav of a town, he was absolutely unwilling. He also refused to teach those who were older than himself. This left him with very few possibilities for parnasah and he eventually found a job teaching gemara to older bochurim.
When his admirers noticed how absolutely destitute the Chofetz Chaim was, they often pleaded with him to accept a monthly stipend to alleviate his poverty. They tried all sorts of ways to give the money to the Chofetz Chaim in a very respectable manner, but to no avail. Even at a young age he was already resolved not to take money from others. He literally preferred to go hungry.
When he was older and already famous, Rav Meir Hillel Kolotzsky, one of the most respectable people in Grodno, wished to donate a sizable sum of money for the Chofetz Chaim’s personal use. But he already knew that the Chofetz Chaim never agreed to take gifts from others, so he planned to send the money anonymously so it could not be returned.
He sent the money to his mother in Eishishok to send it off to the Chofetz Chaim in an unmarked envelope with a note that said that the money was a gift freely given for the Chofetz Chaim’s use. But the Chofetz Chaim refused to use the money. He left it on one side for almost two years until he finally uncovered a tenuous clue that helped him determine from where the money had come. The moment he understood who the donor had been he sent it back. Exactly two years after the gift had been sent, every penny was returned to the disappointed donor.”

The Power of Prayer

Our sages teach: “The prayer of the tzaddikim is like a pitchfork because it overturns Hashem’s attribute of judgment into mercy.” The Divrei Torah zt”l asks, “Why should prayer effect any change at all? One would think that since Hashem orchestrates events, shouldn’t we just learn to accept His will instead of trying to overturn it?” He answers that since we have been commanded to pray, Hashem’s true will is that we use prayer to change our fate. We can see this in the image of the pitchfork.
A pitchfork is not used to move hay from one place to another, but rather to turn the hay and expose it to the air. Similarly, Hashem sends challenges our way not to make our lives difficult, but so that we will be goaded to turn to Him in prayer and remove the challenges. The heavenly decree is meant to last only as long as it takes us to “turn it over” to mercy through prayer. This sometimes needs to be done many times, just as the hay needs to be turned a number of times before it is dry.
The Chofetz Chaim zt”l writes, “The sole reason for all the difficulties which have come upon us is that we have not prayed enough. If we had prayed more, we would have been answered. The three daily prayers are simply not enough. One should pour out his heart to Hashem with intensity several times a day. The reason why the three regular prayers are not enough is because we are so used to them that it is difficult to say them with intensity. But a prayer from the depths of the heart will surely be answered.”
Rav Nosson of Breslov wrote the same thing long before.
Rav Nachman of Breslov zt”l explained that this is like someone traveling on the highway; since bandits also know the “high road,” he must take precautions. “But one who forges a new path through the wilderness need not fear highwaymen. The regular prayers are the “high road”—easy to travel, but unsafe. Personal prayer is a newly-trod path—no heavenly accusers lie in wait to prevent one from pouring out his heart to Hashem!”

True Emunah

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, was a paradigm of living emunah. He would often say that even if one is beset with difficulties he must never say that things are bad, since such statements contradict the truth that everything Hashem does is for our good. Instead, one should say that things are very bitter, since medicines are also bitter but they are certainly good for a person since they heal him. In addition, one who complains that things are bad has lied, since he says that what is ultimately for his good is bad simply because he does not see how it is for the good.
It is not surprising that when Rav Michel Shurkin, shlit”a, asked Rav Yisrael Portnoy, shlit”a, what he learned in Radin, his simple reply comprised a single word: “Emunah.”
The Chofetz Chaim would say over a vort that he enjoyed in the name of the bathhouse attendant in Radin. “The verses states, 'ואנחנו עם מרעיתו וצאן ידו'—‘And we are the people of His shepherding and the flock of His hand.’ The intention of צאן ידו is that He always guards us without a moment’s break. This parallels the teaching of our sages that the people of Nehardea would not leave their sheep to find their own way to the shepherds’ houses unsupervised for fear of thieves. Instead, the owners would go to the shepherds’ shacks and hand over the sheep from hand to hand.
“This is the meaning of the verse. Divine providence does not leave the Jewish people for even an instant. This is similar to the gemara in Kidushin 72. There we find that before Eli left the world, Shmuel’s light had already begun to shine, since Hashem does not leave the world bereft of tzaddikim to protect and guide us.”

When Must One Close His Gemara?

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, was unusually scrupulous that his weights and measures should always be exactly correct. Despite his zealous care not to waste a moment unnecessarily, adjusting his scales was the one business need that took him out of the beis midrash every weekday without fail.
Each day, he would close his gemara to visit his store and check that the weights and measures were exactly correct. He would never rely on his having checked them the day before, since he saw it as his holy duty to be absolutely certain that he was not cheating anyone, even for one day.
Reb Yosef, zt”l, a student of the Chofetz Chaim and also the ironmonger of Radin, recounted an amazing story which demonstrates the care that his rebbe took in this area. “The Chofetz Chaim gave me the honor of making his weights for him and replacing them when they wore out, but he would not allow me to make the marks signifying the exact position of each weight. This task he left to himself. If I had not seen how he dealt with those weights I would never have believed it.
“It took him hours to make one siman on a weight. In order to ensure that the weight was exactly correct he would spend hours before he was finally satisfied that it could be used.”
“It is well known that I was a very poor man in those years,” Reb Yosef continued. “But I tell you now that I would not have agreed to mark those weights with the scrupulous care of the Chofetz Chaim if he had paid me twenty five ruble an hour! Even for what was a veritable fortune for me, I would never have been able to replicate the intense focus that the Chofetz Chaim put into what otherwise would have been a simple task, with a much less honest result.”

Waiting for Moshiach

Rav Kahaneman, the Ponevezher Rav, zt”l, recalled how he became the youngest member of the kodshim kollel of the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, in Radin.
“A short while after I had joined the yeshiva in Radin, I left the Beis Medrash one day after Shachris, and I noticed the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, standing by the door with his tallis bag in his hand. He looked at me in a marked manner as the baalei Mussar generally do when they want to speak with someone. Naturally, I immediately approached the Gadol.
He took me by the arm and said, “You are a kohein, so let me ask you a question: In Taanis 17 we find that since the Beis HaMikdash can be rebuilt on any weekday, it is proper nowadays for kohanim to refrain from drinking wine. We kohanim must be ready to do the avodah at all times, and since it is prohibited to do the avodah while drunk, we really shouldn’t be drinking at all. Yet the Gemara then says that our ‘kalkalah,’ that which might otherwise be our ruin, is also our rectification. Since the kohanim don’t know to which mishmar they belong now, there will be a big wait until each kohein will be told this vital information by Eliyahu HaNavi.”
The Chofetz Chaim went on, “We are taught that drinking too much wine wears off by sleeping or walking. For this reason, any negative effects of the wine will wear off by the time each kohein gets to his turn on line. Now, that’s all very well with regards to wine. But what will a kohein do who is not familiar with the seder avodah? A kohein who is not proficient in all aspects of the avodah will certainly not be able to serve! Is he not much worse off than a drunk? Traveling or sleeping will correct inebriation, not ignorance! You are a Kohein. We are waiting for Moshiach every instant. How will you do the avodah when he comes? It is incumbent upon you to learn seder kodshim right away!”
“As you can imagine, I joined the Chofetz Chaim’s kodshim kollel that very day!”