The Source of the Tzaddik's Blessings

Many were those who came to the Ohev Yisrael of Apt, zt”l, for advice and to ask him to daven for them. Interestingly, he would often take breaks while people were waiting for him. During these times he would take out a gemara and learn with great diligence. After some time immersed in the subject he would agree to begin to see people again. Then he would take another break. And then another. He once explained the reason behind this apparently strange custom. "No one should think that I do not understand the importance of avoiding keeping Hashem’s people waiting. Yet I also know that they have come to me for help. I know that the main way to open up channels of bounty is through the Torah. For this reason I take breaks to learn with intensity. In this manner I am most likely to succeed in helping those who come to me in whatever way needed.”

Exertion for Torah

Rav Yisrael Freidman, shlit”a, encouraged those who have a hard time toiling in Torah with the following words. “Our sages tell us that if someone claims that he has found Torah,יגעת ומצאתי , believe him. But if he claims that he has attained the Torah without toil, don’t believe him. Yet not everyone is able to learn Torah in an analytical or deep manner. How can such people acquire Torah which can only be attained through the expenditure of much effort?
“The answer to this question can be extracted from the gemara in Menachos 7. There we find that when Avimi forgot Meseches Menachos he went to Rav Chisda to learn it again. The gemara asks why he didn’t call Rav Chisda to come to him? It replies that Avimi understood that if he went to Rav Chisda the effort he put forth going to Rav Chisda would aid him in relearning the forgotten tractate. Rashi explains that this is because of יגעתי ומצאתי תאמין. We see that there is another way to obtain Torah which can be done by anyone: working hard by going out of one’s way to learn whenever possible and as well as he can.
“This is why Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, zt”l, and other greats where always particular to get the seforim necessary for the shiur themselves. They knew that even the exertion of getting up and obtaining a necessary sefer would help them to achieve more and deeper understanding of Torah.”
Rav Shamai Ginsburg, zt”l, made a similar comment to someone who expressed regret that some of his questions to the Rav had embarrassed him publicly. “I am actually glad of this, since shame is an excellent way to attain more success in learning, as we find in Menachos 7...”

Learning for the Sake of Heaven

Rav Chaim Volozhiner, zt”l, explains, “Our sages teach:'לעולם'—‘one must always’ learn Torah not lishmah, since it is only through learning not for the sake of heaven that one comes to learn lishmah. This means that although it is virtually impossible to begin learning for the sake of heaven, one must focus on coming to learn Torah l’shmah. If he does not think about coming to lishmah, however, he is all too likely to spend his entire life learning shelo l’shmah.
“This can be compared to a king who orders his servant to ascend to the top floor of a tall building. It is certainly obvious that the servant cannot jump so many flights on his own steam. He must obviously take the stairs and ascend story by story until he finally arrives at the top floor. It is self-evident that the king would have no right to be angry at his servant for beginning his climb up the stairs from the ground floor. Nevertheless, if the king were to see the slave loitering from side to side on the steps and not really ascending at all, he would be furious.”
The Alter of Kelm, zt”l, similarly explains that one must learn shelo lishmah that will bring to lishmah. “If one learns for ulterior motives but he is also motivated by a deep desire for spirituality, his she’lo lishmah is somewhat lishmah already and he will eventually learn lishmah. But if one’s entire motivation is for a shallow desire for honor in this world or other material concerns, he will likely never learn lishmah. The reason for this is since although this person appears to be serving Hashem, this is really just a façade that is as shallow as a Purim spiel. Just like one’s actions on the stage on Purim do not necessarily reflect who he really is, so too, a person learning Torah only for material benefit without a thought for Hashem cannot come to lishmah. Nevertheless, we must not refrain from doing mitzvos or learning merely because we have ulterior motives, since although this is a very puny level compared to lishmah, one will still be rewarded for every mitzvah or Torah learning, even shelo lishmah.”

The Power of Song

When Rav Meir of Kretchnif, zt”l, was a young boy his father, the Rebbe of Nadvorna, zt”l, would often travel. During one of his many trips, his young son Meir felt a burning desire to learn the alef-beis, so he walked into the town’s cheder and asked the melamed to teach him the letters. The melamed readily complied.
When his father returned the young child immediately showed off his knowledge by holding an open sefer next to his father and naming the letters. When the rebbe heard that the town melamed had done so, the rebbe complained to him. “He is my son and his education is my responsibility. How could you teach him without my prior consent?”
The rebbe wished to teach his son with the enthusiasm imbued to him by his father. In order to do this he ordered his son not to open any sefer until he forgot what he had been taught. All berachos and the like were taught to him by heart, but because he had a phenomenal memory it took a very long time for him to forget. In the meantime he felt inferior to his peers who all could read but when he complained to someone who told his feelings to the rebbe, the rebbe explained why he was waiting. “With Hashem’s help this will be for the best. He is now focusing on tefillah and he will learn to daven better than thousands of Jews.”
The child did indeed pray with great fervor. In addition his energies and yearning caused him to design a violin and play the most beautiful and inspiring songs. His playing was so inspirational that his father would often wake him to play a heart-rending melody to arouse him in avodas Hashem.
When he ascended higher and higher in avodah, he elevated his music with him and he also taught his son to use a violin in his avodah. To this day, this avodah made an impression in his descendants known for using music to inspire themselves and others in avodas Hashem.

The Basis of Shalom Bayis

Rav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz, shlit”a, once explained how a ben Torah should treat his wife. “I heard that whenever there was thunder and lightning, my rebbe, Rav Shlomo Heiman, zt”l would stop the shiur and rush home. What was behind this strange custom? Very simple. His wife was afraid of lightning and thunder so he felt responsible to run home to calm her.”
When asked how to build a good relationship with one’s wife, he replied, “Shalom bayis all depends on how the husband relates to his wife. If he treats her right and honors her, she will see that he recognizes everything she does and appreciates her efforts in the home. Naturally she will also relate to him in kind.
“But the way to win the respect of one’s wife is to be careful not to waste time. If she sees that her husband uses every spare moment to learn, she will think the world of him. Sometimes we find a relationship where the wife is reluctant to allow the husband to spend much time learning. Most often this is because he does not help her around the house. A husband should realize that time spent helping around the house is not wasted, since if one helps he will usually find that his wife will allow him to learn more.
“Our sages teach that it is our sacred duty to love our wives as ourselves and to honor her even more than ourselves. Practically this means that one should compliment his wife as much as possible both for whatever she does as a partner, for building a family together, and for every second she allows him to learn Torah. Even when the husband doesn’t really feel like it he should still compliment her, since this encourages her and builds their relationship. When an avrech reaches a certain milestone in his learning, he must inform his wife to allow her to share in his simchah. She is a partner in every iota of his learning and has every right to know!”

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!”

White Instead of Black

When Rav Raphael of Barshad, zt”l, first began to search for the ideal way to serve Hashem, he heard that learning the Zohar Hakadosh was a great segulah for attaining fear of heaven. He therefore began learning a great deal of Zohar. After learning through the whole Zohar, he started the Zohar Chadash. Towards the end of the Zohar Chadash, there is a warning against being like Bil’am, who was a complete fool despite his great knowledge of serving Hashem.
Rav Raphael said to himself, “If one can know so much and still be a fool, perhaps I should focus instead on the Shulchan Aruch so that my study will bring me to ma’aseh.”
He started learning the Shulchan Aruch in depth, but when he got to Orach Chaim #231, “All of one’s acts should be for the sake of heaven,” he again felt that something was missing.
“Are all of my actions really l’shem shomayim? Perhaps I should spend more time on mussar?” he wondered. Rav Rafael therefore added study of the Shelah HaKadosh to his schedule.
He was so immersed in the Shelah that he would learn it at every opportunity. He would even take it with him when waking the townsfolk for davening so that he would not waste a single minute. But after a while he again felt as if something was missing. So he traveled to the famous Rav Pinchas of Koretz, zt”l, for advice.
Rav Rafael poured out his heart. “I want to serve Hashem in truth, but everything I have tried has been insufficient!” He was so distressed that he actually fainted.
When he came to, Rav Pinchas said, “If you stay with me, you will come to truth.”
Three years later, Rav Rafael dreamed that he was playing cards. Although his hand started out with black cards, they all turned white in the end. When he shared his dream with Rav Pinchas, he was given a powerful interpretation.
“Your dream is like the gemara in Beitzah 10b, about one who designated black birds and found white ones instead. When you first came to me, you were blackened with worry and chumros, and this prevented you from serving Hashem in truth. But now you are white with virtue and purity!”

The Joy of Torah

The Baal Shem Tov HaKadosh zt”l explained the joy of Torah through a parable.
“A musician was playing his instrument with such skill and sweetness, everyone who heard him was swept away by the sound. His tune was so powerful that his audience couldn’t hold themselves back; they started to dance with more and more energy and joy, until they were leaping nearly to the ceiling!
“The closer one got to the music the more intense was the sound, and the pleasure and joy of the dancers grew and grew. Whoever was closer was more enrapt, and danced with all the more fervor. At the height of the dancing, a deaf man entered the room. All he could see were wild people, leaping and whirling like marionettes, as if they were under some sort of spell. Because he was cut off from the music, the scene looked to him like something only a madman would dream of, and all the people seemed foolish, or insane.
He said to himself, “Is this what they call happiness?” The Baal Shem Tov would then conclude: “If only the deaf man could sense that the source of all this rejoicing is the sweetest of music, he too would dance with all his might!”

Rav Zusha's Method of Learning Talmud

Rav Meshulam Zusha, zt”l, joined the disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, zt”l, together with his famous older brother, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, zt”l. Although Rav Zusha soon proved that he was a profound thinker, he mainly gained the admiration of his fellow students because of his deep yiras Shomayim. Even in his younger years, he showed an intuitive grasp of the inner meaning of the Torah, sometimes at the expense of the plain meaning of the text. Although this would seem to be a disadvantage, the Rama M’Pano, zt”l, writes that even as far back as the time of the Tanaim and Amoraim certain unusual individuals developed first in yiras Shomayim and deeper learning and only afterward acquired a penetrating analysis on the level of nigleh.
In any event, Rav Zusha tried to learn Gemara with various chavrusos, but his unusual approach drove several potential partners away until he finally managed to integrate his deep understanding of Torah with its more revealed aspects.
During one such attempt, Rav Zusha attempted to arrange a chavrusa with Rav Shmelke of Nickolsburg, zt”l, a great Chassidic figure in his own right. When Rav Shmelke arrived at the appointed time, the two sat down and opened up their Gemaras. Rav Shmelke painstakingly began to expound the peshat of the opening Mishnah of Meseches Yevamos: “Fifteen women exempt their Tzaros and their Tzaros Tzaros from Chalitzah and from Yibum. ‘Exempt their Tzaros’ means that if one of them is married to his brother, then both she and any other co-wife to whom the brother is married is exempt from Chalitzah and Yibum.”
Rav Zusha was overcome with emotion and exclaimed, “Who told you that this is peshat? I think it should be read differently! ‘Fifteen’ alludes to the Divine Name that we call Kah (which is a yud =10 and a hei =5). ‘Women,’ ‘Nashim,’ can be read as the abbreviated conjunction of two words—na Shem—as in Ana Hashem, ‘please, Hashem.’”
Filled with fervor, Rav Zusha was nearly weeping, “Ana Hashem, ‘potros tzaroseihen v’tzaros tzaroseihen ad sof haolam!’ Please, Hashem, release the Jewish people from their suffering and from all of its painful aftereffects for all time in the merit of Your holy Name Kah, with which You created this world and the next!”

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!”

Don't Push!

Although chassidic “tischen” are very often inspiring, sometimes the pushing that goes on at such places is scandalous. At times, certain rebbes have done their utmost to limit the shoving so that everyone is able to best experience the holiness afforded to those with enough menuchas hanefesh to feel it.
During one of the many weeks that the son of the Me’or VaShemesh, Rav Aharon of Cracow, zt”l, spent Shabbos by his rebbe, the Tiferes Shlomo, zt”l, the rebbe praised him publicly. It was at the tisch and many of the chassidim were jostling each other trying to get as near to the rebbe as possible. Despite the pushing, Rav Aharon remained in a corner of the room, listening intently but not making any effort to procure a closer spot.
After the rebbe concluded his deeply inspiring Torah lesson, he commented on Rav Aharon’s behavior. “Our rabbis teach in Bava Basra 99 that although all the vessels of the beis hamikdash took up space, the aron did not. Yet it is surely significant that the luchos were kept in the aron which didn’t take up any space, and not in the other vessels which did.
“This parallels what we find with Rav Aharon standing in the corner there. Although he did not jostle to make himself closer, you will find that he knows the Torah very well. This is precisely why: when a person doesn’t push ahead and attempt to take up anyone else’s space, he will find that the luchos, the Torah, is within him!”

An Early Start

The Pnei Menachem of Gur, zt”l, recounted that in 1942, when he was still a bochur, his father the Imrei Emes, zt”l, sent him to Tzfas to learn with his elder brother, the Lev Simcha, zt”l. The two made a seder to learn Seder Zeraim, both the Mishnayos and the Yerushalmi. Many years later, the Pnei Mencahem recounted some of the powerful encouragement his brother had given him to take advantage of the time and learn while he was still a youth.
“In Bava Metzia 85, chazal tell us that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because they did not bless תחילה, which most take to mean before learning. But there is another way to read this. It can also mean that they did not capitalize on the blessing of youth and learn Torah when they were still young. Squandering their youth is what caused this terrible destruction. We see from this the preciousness of learning when one is still young...”
On another occasion, the Lev Simcha said, “The gemara in Bava Metzia 107 regarding the importance of eating breakfast seems difficult on the face of it. We have certainly seen many people who have eaten an early breakfast but have not come to such might. In Kotzk they would explain that the word פת has a numerical value of four hundred and eighty, the same as the word תלמוד. In this context the gemara means that those who learned Talmud in their youth easily outdistance many who learned later on.
“This resonates well with another pointed teaching of Kotzk: if people were born old and grew young, they would know how use these precious years properly. Because it is not this way, people do no recognize the importance of youthful learning when they are still young.”
But Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Ziditchov, zt”l, learned this passage differently. “Since פת is gematria תלמוד, our gemara is teaching the vital importance to having a daily gemara seder in the morning. One who learns gemara in the morning hours when he is still clear will easily outdistance someone who learns when his mind is unfocused...”