Hashem’s Elect

The Chovos Halevavos, zt”l, writes that there are many conditions that must be fulfilled before one attains genuine love of Hashem. One of these prerequisites is that one is submissive before those who fear Hashem and who are His elect.
He adds, “No generation or country is devoid of an appropriate teacher to impart avodas Hashem.
The Alter of Kelm., zt”l, takes this a step further, “Even if one is truly a scholar and tzaddik, if he is in disagreement with the sages of the generation he will not be accepted on high either. And this is true even if he happens to be right and they are wrong.”
When Rav Tzvi Broide, zt”l, from Salant, passed away, Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, commented, “Some hold that each person’s heavenly tribunal that serves his final judgment comprises the departed sages of his generation. According to this, people must be especially careful in hilchos Shabbos, since Rav Tzvi was very strict in hilchos Shabbos...”
The Alter of Kelm, made a similar statement when Rav Yisrael Salanter passed away. “As is well known Rav Yisrael Salanter was very particular about middos; indeed this made up most of what he spoke about. It follows that now that he has joined the heavenly courts, people should make correcting bad middos a big priority in their lives.”
In the words of the Vilna Gaon, zt”l, “In every generation the world is run based on a particular midah. All of their actions and the way they comport themselves is according to this middah.”

Shabbos After Shavuos

In many chassidic circles, the Shabbos after Shavuos—in Yiddish, “Shabbos noch Shavuos”—was also called, “Noch a Shavuos”—another Shavuos. Although the Beis Avrahom of Slonim, zt”l, writes that the same is true regarding the Shabbos after Simchas Torah, the Pachad Yitzchak of Boyan, zt”l, would only use this title for the Shabbos after Shavuos. The Tchortkover Rebbe, zt”l, would also only use this title for the Shabbos after Shavuos.
When the Maharsham, zt”l, was in Tchortkov, someone asked him why the Shabbos after Shavuos was any different than the Shabbos after any other yom tov.
As always, the Maharsham, zt”l, gave a compelling answer. “We can understand this from the explanation of the Radvaz regarding a statement brought on Menachos 96. There we find that during all three holidays the kohanim would exhibit the lechem hapanim which remained hot and fresh despite sitting on the shulchan for a week—and exclaim, ‘See how much Hashem cherishes you!’
“The gemara implies that they exhibited the lechem on all three festivals. Yet the Lechem Hapanim was removed on Shabbos. Regarding Sukkos and Pesach it is easy to understand when they showed them the lechem. Since there is a Shabbos chol hamoed, it is clear that they took out the breads then. But regarding Shavuos this is difficult. Most often Shavous did not fall on Shabbos. So how could the kohanim exhibit the breads?
“The Radvaz explains that presumably the kohanim exhibited the breads on the Shabbos after Shavuos. This is explains why specifically the Shabbos after Shavuos is known as another Shavuos.”

Pesach and Shavous: Convalescence and Recovery

The Avnei Nezer, zt”l, provides a deep explanation of the place of Pesach, Sefirah, Shavuos and Shabbos. “The Zohar explains why we absolutely refrain from chometz on Pesach, yet we specifically bring an offering of chometz on Shavuos. This can be understood with a parable of a king whose only son was very sick. The doctors said that the king’s son should eat a healing diet to help him recover. But when the son became well again, there was no need for him to confine himself to eating according to such a restricted plan.
The Avnei Nezer explained, “The same is true regarding chometz. On Pesach we are ill and must eat matzah to heal us. But after the splitting of the sea, we are no longer vulnerable to chometz and can now bring it up on the altar. We can understand this in view of the words of the Ramban in Devarim 29:17. As is well known, chometz is likened to the yetzer hara. On Pesach we are likened to an ill person who cannot absorb foods that are difficult to digest. By Shavuos we are so completely recovered that we can serve Hashem with our yetzer hara.
“In light of this we understand why the Lechem Hapanim—which was set up on Shabbos—must be matzah and may not be chametz. Although Shabbos is higher than Shavuos, it has a dual purpose. It is the pinnacle of the week that passed. But it is also the source of the blessings for the week to come, as we find in the Zohar. The showbread is set up on Shabbos to stay until the next week and is the source of material bounty for the next week, as the Ramban writes in Parshas Terumah. Clearly, this does not allude to the first aspect of completion of the week gone by. Lechem Hapanim, in its bearing of the blessing of the coming week, must be matzah to signify that it represents a new beginning which has not yet come to culmination. Shavuos is the culmination of Pesach and the Sefirah. Since it alludes to completion, we bring the offering of the two breads specifically from chometz.”

The Lofty Level of Eretz Yisrael

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, zt”l, emphasized the great importance of coming to Israel, even saying that this is the main objective of every Jew. When Rav Nosson, zt”l, asked him what he meant, he replied, “I mean the physical land...”
When Rav Aharon Menachem Mendel of Radzimin, zt”l, returned from his final visit to Eretz Yisrael, he could not stop enthusiastically praising the land. “The new Torah thoughts that I developed in the holy land were much deeper and I gained great insight that I never had before. Even the air and the earth and the sun shining in Eretz Yisrael are completely different than outside the land.”
When his student Rav Yisrael Weinstock, zt”l, asked him what he meant by this statement, the Rebbe responded unequivocally. “This can be compared to Shabbos kodesh. Even the simplest Jew experiences a difference even in the physical world on Shabbos. Even the wall of a person’s home is completely different during Shabbos, and the same is true of the physical matter of Eretz Yisrael.”
But Rav Weinstock was unsure what he meant by this explanation and continued to question. “But what does the Rebbe really mean?”
“I do not mean deep spiritual concepts that are abstract and mystical. I simply mean every person’s perception of the physical. Even the simplest Jew sees that everything is different on Shabbos, since everyone becomes very different then. The same is true regarding Eretz Yisrael.”
These sentiments were shared by Rav Chaim Brim, zt”l. His love for Eretz Yisrael was so intense that whenever he had to leave Israel he observed the same custom. Before boarding the plane—or immediately after disembarking on his return trips—he would spread out something on the ground, prostrate himself and kiss the holy earth of Eretz Yisrael.
Interestingly, the Chessed L'Avraham, zt"l, writes that the angel of death only operates outside Eretz Yisrael. Inside Eretz Yisrael, people leave the world in a much loftier manner. This is not only true for tzaddikim, who die misas neshikah. Even simple people who sincerely want to serve Hashem, leave the world in a much higher way.

The Improbable Thief

Towards the end of his life, Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, stayed at the home of one his supporters. To the shock of his host, Rav Yisrael ordered that if he was taken ill on Shabbos he was not to do any prohibited labor to save his life. When his host asked what possible rationale he had for this, Rav Yisrael explained, “Our sages tell us that a professional thief is not saved with prohibited labor on Shabbos. Since I am afraid that I may be in this category, I beseech you not to violate this halachah and save me.”
“But why do you say that you suspect you might be a professional thief?” the man stuttered.
Rav Yisrael’s reply was astounding. “I am supported by people because they think I am a holy tzaddik. But the sad truth is that I am not at all. This means that the money given is theft and you may not violate Shabbos even if my life is in danger...”
The host was very reluctant to follow Rav Yisrael’s instructions but was equally hesitant about disregarding his psak without consulting a renowned posek. He chose Rav Yitzchak Elchonon Spector, zt”l, who disagreed with Rav Yisrael. “Despite what he told you, you are obligated to violate Shabbos to save Rav Yisrael’s life.”
When Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, zt”l, would recount this story he would comment, “Interestingly, Rav Yisrael was never in such a situation on Shabbos. His condition worsened on motzei Shabbos and he died on erev Shabbos. This is a prime example of a fulfillment of the verse, 'רצון יראיו יעשה'—‘Hashem does the will of those who fear Him.’”

A Difficult Psak

Around the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, a boy of about fourteen lived on a moshav. When he noticed that his mother would slaughter chickens using a straight razor, he became despondent since he realized that his parents had been feeding him non-kosher food all along. Shabbos observance was also very weak, so the boy decided to leave home. He ultimately made his way to Yeshivas Chevron in Jerusalem.
One day, he received a letter from home. While plowing, his father had broken his back and was bedridden, and he wanted him to return home to care for him. The young men who had been involved with this boy wondered what was to be done. When Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, zt”l, heard their question, he said, “Ask the Chazon Ish!”
Rav Moshe Shtigal recalled, “I took the young boy with me and we traveled to Bnei Brak. I left the boy learning in the beis medrash in the home of the Chazon Ish, and I went alone into the room to speak to the gaon. I explained the whole story, and he said, ‘You didn’t have anyone in Jerusalem to ask—you had to come to me?’ I answered that I had already been to Rav Chatzkel, zt”l, and he sent me here. And then I could see the gravity of his expression.
“The Chazon Ish said: ‘This means that the son should abandon his sick father and not go, and that I should be the one to tell him so! How can I say such a thing?’ And his psak was that the boy should go home instead to care for his ailing father. I had the nerve to ask, ‘But they don’t eat kosher food there, and the Shabbos observance is not the best…?’ And he answered, ‘He should try his best to eat kosher.’ Then he asked, ‘Is the boy here?’ I answered that he was. The boy was brought in, and the Chazon Ish said to him in Hebrew: ‘Go home, and try to live a city life there, not the life of the moshav which is called death!’
“He couldn’t tell the boy not to go home, but he told the boy to do his utmost to solve the halachic problems he would face there.”

Shabbos in Breslau

Once during the summer, Rav Yisrael of Ruzhin, zt”l, was in Breslau, Germany for Shabbos. Breslau was a spa town where one could convalesce and strengthen his health, and that was the purpose of the Rebbe’s visit.
On Friday, he saw the town’s large Jewish population heading home from shul while it was still light. This was the custom in Germany then and is still the custom in many places where one needs to eat early, especially when there are many families with young children. To the Rebbe’s shock, the people were carrying despite the town’s absolute lack of an eruv. It was clear that they felt no inhibition for their sinful behavior.
He wondered aloud, “Twenty-four hours of chilul Shabbos is not enough for them so they extend Shabbos to desecrate it for a full twenty-six hours?”
But his next comment showed how to react when Shabbos is desecrated by those who don’t know better. “Our sages teach that Moshiach will only arrive in a generation that is completely righteous or completely wicked, or חייב. But how could a generation be completely righteous? And we know that a generation cannot be completely wicked since we are promised, 'כי לא תשכח מפי זרעו'—‘For the Torah shall not be forgotten from the mouths of his children.’
He continued, “Obviously this statement means that Moshiach will come in a generation where people are either completely wicked or completely righteous. It seems clear that the people here are ready for Moshiach, since they completely disregard the Torah. But we must also be truly ready from our side, by eradicating any negative behavior and fulfilling the mitzvos perfectly, so that we are completely righteous and Moshiach can come.”

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.

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!”

Clarifying the Obvious

Rav Avraham Chaim Naeh, zt”l, used to publish important halachic rulings in a certain Torah journal. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, took great pleasure in perusing the halachic opinions whenever they came out in the journal. But one time Rav Shlomo Zalman noticed an exceedingly obvious halachah which didn’t seem to belong in the journal at all. The article mentioned that it is clearly forbidden from the Torah to squeeze grapes for any reason on Shabbos. Since this is clear from the gemara to the halachah it seemed absolutely superfluous and out of place among the many novel issues discussed in the journal.
Rav Shlomo Zalman wondered what it was doing there and at his first meeting with Rav Naeh he politely requested that he explain why it was there at all.
“I am glad you asked,” said Rav Naeh. “Unfortunately, I have found that to some this halachah is anything but simple. Not too long ago I was very pained that a certain talmid chacham who is involved in the difficult mesechtos of nezikin but has not really learned much Orach Chaim was confused on this point. When we finished praying on Shabbos night we had a delightful conversation which ended with a shock. The man declared joyously, ‘And now I will go home to fulfill Rava’s statement in Bava Basra 97: “a person can squeeze a cluster of grapes and say kiddush on it...”’
Rav Naeh continued painfully, “I learned from this man that this halahcah is by no means straightforward to all. I felt that I had to teach those that he may have mislead, so I included this halachah in the journal. We both know that Rava squeezed the grapes on Erev Shabbos, but sadly this man erred in this and we need to make a clear statement so people will know that his ‘interpretation’ is a violation of a Torah prohibition!”