“Torah Scholars Increase Peace in the World…”

In the end of Adar 5727 (1967), the Slabodka Yeshiva finished Maseches Yevamos and made a gala siyum. The bochurim begged Rav Yechezkel Abrahamsky, zt”l, to speak during the celebration, and he eventually agreed. Rav Abrahamsky taught a very powerful lesson that none could forget. Just before making the actual siyum mesechta he said, “On the last amud of Yevamos we find a statement incorporated in our prayers which is actually repeated several times in Shas: Talmidei chachamim marbim shalom baolam... What does this really mean, that Torah scholars ‘multiply peace in the world?’ Is this meant to teach us that a Torah scholar should spend the bulk of his time going from house to house making peace between husband and wife and man and his neighbor?! No, this statement actually refers to a much higher calling.

Rav Abrahamsky continued, “People who are truly happy are at peace with everyone. Unsatisfied people are contentious and always looking for a fight. All of their days are one big grudge and they are always angry at everyone. It is well known that the true Torah scholar takes tremendous pleasure from every daf gemara that he learns. They get more pleasure from learning the holy Torah than a new millionaire gets from his sudden fortune. As the wealthy man basks in his abundant blessings, the Torah scholar basks in the glow of the even greater windfall of acquiring an eternal connection to Hashem! For this reason he is a man at peace with all. He is so filled with delight and fulfillment from his learning that he never gets angry and never holds a grudge against anyone. Truly a part of the Am medushnei oneg! He hardly notices mundane matters that don’t go his way since he is so filled up with the pleasure of his learning; such things are insignificant in his eyes!”

Rav Abrahamsky concluded, “This is what the Gemara means. The very fact that such joyous and fulfilled people exist is how they fill the world with peace!”

Torah Without Yirah?

Rav Yechezkel Sarna, zt”l, had two brothers who learned in yeshivos where mussar wasn’t studied. When he visited one, he found that the bochurim got dressed up right after seder. Rav Yechezkel assumed they must be headed out to a simchah, but when he asked about it they answered, “Don’t be ridiculous—we’re dressing up to go out on the town!”

Upon visiting his other brother, Rav Yechezkel found everyone very somberly focused on lighting candles. This puzzled him greatly, so he asked for an explanation.

The bochurim were aghast as his ignorance. “Don’t you know that today is Herzl’s yahrtzeit?”

When Rav Wolbe, zt”l, told this story he remarked, “This is what happens in a yeshiva without mussar. In one we find boys drawn after gilui arayos and in the other avodah zarah! Not surprisingly, neither yeshiva exists today!”

Rav Wolbe continued, “A long time ago, the Ramchal, zt”l, traveled through Frankfurt and reported that there was a yeshiva filled with several hundred bochurim who learned very diligently, yet when he broached the subject of yiras shomayim, it was like they were made of dead wood. Is it any surprise that by the time Rav Hirsch, zt”l, became Rav of Frankfurt, there was a mere handful of religious families and this yeshiva had vanished without a trace? Without mussar, even one who diligently learns Gemara with Tosafos, prays intensely and keeps all the mitzvos, won’t have a clue about yiras shomayim!”

The Righteous Jewish Women

Women often show more fear of heaven than men as the following story illustrates.

Years ago, a “progressive” religious movement made great inroads into Lithuania. When it came to Brisk, it had a profound influence on the community and people began to feel that the time had come to make changes in the time-honored traditions of the town. Since such “innocent” changes had often led to breaches in the observance of halachah in other towns, the Brisker Rav, zt”l, saw the institution of any change as a threat to the religious integrity of the whole community. He therefore vehemently opposed the idea of a choir for the high holidays despite the fact that the parnassim of Brisk were very much in favor.

Well aware of the Brisker Rav’s opposition, the parnassim decided to circumvent him. They chose singers, planned at which points in the prayers the choir would sing, and even set up a platform. They planned to introduce the choir right in the middle of the Rosh Hashanah service without asking leave of the Rav. On the festival, when the parnassim signaled the group to take their places, the Brisker Rav immediately ordered them back to their seats. The group obliged, but as they turned to sit, the parnassim ordered them back on the platform.

As they ascended, the Rav again ordered them to their seats. The parnassim disregarded the Rav and again ordered the choir to take their places. After another few moments of this, the Rav finally turned to the women’s section for help.

He exclaimed, “Jewish daughters! These people are trying to destroy the Torah and you remain silent?”

The wives of the parnassim responded to his call, publicly derided their husbands for their behavior, and the parnassim gave up!

Cause and Effect

The Ramchal, zt”l, writes that every act makes an impression on the world as a whole. Even a very small motion registers in the upper worlds and has a resulting impact on all of creation. However, since no two people are the same, no two actions have the same effect. What this means practically is that while two people can be sitting together at the same table, speaking and eating and drinking, one of them can be having a profound impact on the entire world because his words and actions are suffused with sanctity, and the other’s more mundane acts barely register.

The gemara in Sukka 28, provides a striking example of this. While Rav Yonasan ben Uziel learned, every bird that flew overhead would be instantly vaporized. Although many thousands of others have learned with great intensity, they never achieved this particular level of producing a perceptible change in the world. What distinguished Rav Yonasan ben Uziel from the others? The profound illumination, the fire within him, burned so strongly that its effect could be seen in the world around him. There are endless levels in the realm of personal sanctity, ranging all the way from being a simple observant Jew all the way to a scholar who is also steeped in holiness. How much a person’s actions can spiritually affect the world at large depends on both the intention that he has in mind during the act, as well as his own personal degree of sanctity and connection to Hashem.

Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Zidichov, zt”l, spoke about this in relation to himself once. He said, “If a person is on the proper level, he can discern the effect of his actions on the world. Once, I went to shul wrapped in my tallis and tefillin intensely focused on the mitzvah and powerfully connected to Hashem. While walking, I heard a heavenly voice calling before me, ‘Efrayim is a dear child to Me.’ (Yirmiyahu 31:19)”

“But,” he continued, “The opposite is also true. That very day I took my pipe without thinking of Hashem and I heard, ‘Woe to him who rebels against his Master!’”

True Humility

The Nodah B’Yehudah, zt”l, would always pray neilah for the congregation in Prague every year on Yom Kippur despite the fact that he wasn’t an accomplished singer. In fact, it was well known that the gadol could barely carry a tune. Even so, in deference to the prevailing custom in Prague and at the insistence of the roshei hakahal, he faithfully led the neilah prayers from year to year.

One year, a certain poor man prayed in the great shul and heard the Nodah B’Yehudah sing the neilah service, and after Yom Kippur he went from door to door to collect. Instead of offering the regular pitch, however, he decided that he would capitalize on his natural gift of impersonation. While speaking to one baal habayis, he made a little routine out of mimicking the Rav’s characteristic nusach and saw that the man found him quite entertaining and proved willing to give him more money than usual. Since it had worked once, the beggar decided to try it again, and when this imitation was considered hilarious by all who heard it, he made it a part of his regular pitch.

When the roshei hakahal got wind of his disrespectful behavior they were furious and threatened to forbid the man from collecting charity.

The poor man ran to plead before the Rav, “Everyone knows how poor I am, and people are giving me so much more money now! I mean no offense to the Rav; I’m just trying to be entertaining so that people will open up their hearts and pockets a little.”

The Nodah B’Yehudah was completely unconcerned with his own honor. Not only did he allow the poor man to continue his antics, he even gave him a letter of approbation: “This man is free to support (l’chalkel) himself by imitating my m’chalkel!”

Forty Days To Purim!

The Zohar HaKadosh teaches that there is no way to experience holiness without preparation.

In Breslov, we have a custom to begin our preparations for Purim forty days before the festival. What are the preparations? Crying out to G-d to be worthy of the great joy and light of Purim!

Many Breslovers sing the words of Reb Nosson to the tune of the higher chorus of "V'Nahafoch Hu":

"Hatzileini m'klippas Haman Amalek, v'zakeini l'kedushas Mordechai V'Esther!"
"Save me from the impure force of Haman/Amalek, and make me worthy of the holiness of Mordechai and Esther!"

A freilichen Purim!

Do Your Part, and Hashem Does the Rest!

Once, when the Chofetz Chayim zt”l was already infirm, he needed to travel to another town so his students were forced to carry him as they transferred from one train to the other. “How will we manage to carry his seat all the way to the stop in time to pick up the connecting train?” they worried.

Much to their surprise, they spotted their connection right across the tracks just as they pulled into the station! It had apparently gone astray, and wound up right where they needed it, just at the right time. The exit of their train was exactly opposite the entrance to their connection, and it was a simple matter of a few seconds’ walk to transfer the Chofetz Chayim to the car.

The conductor called out to them, “I’ve been driving this train for thirty years, and I’ve never made a mistake like this before!” When one of the students pointed out the “miracle” to his Rebbe, the Chofetz Chayim reacted unexpectedly. “Why are you so surprised? Don’t you know that when a person has pure intentions, Hashem helps him straight away?!”

Reversing Impurity

A certain baal teshuvah once came to Rav Aharon HaGadol of Karlin zt”l, and begged to be shown the path to true repentance, since he had been living a life steeped in sin.

Rav Aharon HaGadol took his time examining the man, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, my son, but the impurity that clings to you is too powerful. How can I give you a remedy? Go to the great Maggid of Mezritch—perhaps he will be able to do what I cannot.”

The tzaddik gave the baal teshuvah a brief note for the Maggid: “The bearer of this letter is defiled from top to toe, not a millimeter of his soul is undamaged, but he truly wants to come close to G-d.” He then sent the poor man on his way.

The journey from Karlin to Mezritch was long and arduous, and the man suffered from all the cold and privation that traveling on foot from White Russia to the Ukraine could put in his path. Eventually, he found his way to the holy Maggid, and gave him the note without saying a word.

The Maggid slowly raked him over with his piercing gaze, and then surprised him with a gentle smile. “You don’t look too bad to me. I’m sure that Rav Aharon wrote the truth when he saw you last…but your journey has already purified you more than you think!”

The Sanctity of Shabbos

Our Parshah discusses the constuction of the holy vessels of the Mishkan.
The Chida zt”l explains that although we have been bereft of the Beis Hamikdash and its vessels for so long, each vessel has a symbolic significance that applies to every Jew, at all times. The golden table represents our own table, and the work that we do in good faith to keep food on it. We should invite Torah scholars, and the poor, to share from what we have. The table also represents Shabbos, a taste of the world to come. The great light of Shabbos descends when we pray, and when we eat the Shabbos meals—each one uplifts us more. The table and the menorah must face one another. The menorah represents the Torah, and each of the seven candles represents the seven days of the week permeated with Torah and sanctity. Six of them lean inward, towards the seventh, the Shabbos, because keeping Shabbos is the source of all blessing, spiritual and material.

Once, while visiting a town close to Radin, the Chofetz Chyim zt”l summoned a certain Jew to him. This Jew owned a brick factory that also produced on Shabbos. He claimed that if he stopped the furnaces for Shabbos, he would lose two extra days of production in re-heating the furnace.

The Chofetz Chayim turned to this man and said, “I knew your late father. I attended his wedding and also your bris. As you can see, I am already a very old man and I will soon be seeing your father. He will surely ask me as to how you are doing. What shall I tell him?” The Chofetz Chayim broke down and started to shed bitter tears.

In a choked voice he continued. “Shall I tell him that you violate the holy Shabbos? How can I possibly cause him such pain?”

The factory owner began to sob miserably and promised to sell his business. But the Chofetz Chayim was not appeased. His tone turned suddenly stern. “Don’t put this off until tomorrow. Do it now! You may not have a tomorrow!”

A Cry in the Dark

The Rebbe of Radoshitz, zt”l, liked to tell a story about true love of Hashem. Once, while he was staying at an inn while on a journey, he was awakened suddenly in the middle of the night. The Rebbe heard heart-rending moaning and sobbing, apparently emanating from the innkeeper’s own quarters. The man was so brokenhearted that his cries had reached the Rebbe’s room.

The Rebbe said to himself, “It must be that this innkeeper is actually a hidden tzaddik. Although there was nothing in the way he behaved when I met him earlier to indicate that he has it in him, it seems that the mourning of Tikkun Chatzos has so overtaken him that even I can hear his crying. I’ve never heard a more sincere recitation of the tefillah in my entire life!”

Just as the Rebbe was considering this new perspective on the innkeeper, the man’s loud moaning apparently woke up his wife. Her voice trembled with worry as she called to him, “Yankel, what’s the matter?”

Yankel’s response was a real eye-opener for the Rebbe.

The innkeeper sobbed, “Kugel, kugel, kugel! Why does it have to be kugel every single night? This heartburn is killing me!”

When telling the tale, the Rebbe of Radoshitz would end off by saying: “I had thought the innkeeper was a nistar in love with Hashem and yearning for redemption. Little had I realized that he was just in love with his stomach and yearning for a change in his evening menu!”

The Rope for the Oxen

"א"ר אסי יצה"ר בתחילה דומה לחוט של בוכיא ולבסוף דומה כעבותות העגלה."

On Sukkah 52 we find a number of descriptions relating to the evil inclination. Rav Asi says, “The evil inclination first appears as fragile as a gossamer thread, but in the end it is like a rope used to harness oxen.” Rav Shalom Shwardron, zt”l, illustrated this statement with his own experience:

“Once, on my way to Eretz Yisrael via ship, we passed the famous port of Venice. I had heard reports of the Italian city’s breathtaking beauty and apparently so had my fellow passengers, because as soon as we were in sight of the port everyone congregated on the deck so they could get the best view. I also slowly made my way to the deck to see if there was truth to what people say, but when I got a clear view of the city it did not appear beautiful at all. Quite the contrary, it was full of steeples with crucifixes and this disgusted me to no end.

“On another journey, we once again passed Venice and a similar thing occurred. But this second time I found the vision of the port tolerable, although not especially lovely. But on a third such occasion, I was so dazzled that I begged to borrow a telescope from a fellow passenger so that I could get a better view. Just then, I caught myself and remembered a teaching I had heard from the Rebbe Rav Leib, zt”l, and the Brisker Rov, zt”l. They said that if we succumb to the temptations of the yetzer hara, we gradually relinquish control over ourselves. Ultimately, the yetzer hara becomes the master of the house.

Rav Shalom concluded, “This is the meaning of our gemara. The tzaddikim are well aware that the evil inclination starts small, with challenges as tenuous as a spider’s web. Succumbing may not seem serious in the short term, but ultimately the yetzer takes over and binds a person to be its beast of burden, like an ox under the harness. Then what used to seem repulsive will appear to be beguilingly beautiful!”

Burning Rage

"דאמר רב חסדא ברותחין קלקלו וברותחין נידונו..."

On Rosh Hashanah 12, there is a discussion about the punishment that was meted out to the generation of the flood. Rav Chisdah said: “They inflamed themselves to sin, so their retribution was exacted through the heat of scalding waters.” The manifestation of their bad middah itself is what came to punish them in the end.

Once, in a certain small town, there lived a man who was known to get infuriated over every little thing. When he would get angry, he would literally thrash his arms and stamp his feet, and his whole body just screamed “fury.” Everyone in town called him “Angry Zalman.”

When this man got old, he grew very ill. People summoned the town doctor, and after he examined Zalman, he announced that his patient had only a few more hours to live. The man’s family members ran to call the members of the chevrah kadishah, so that they should attend to him during his final moments.

The news soon passed from person to person around the town. Hearing this, the children decided to enjoy a cruel joke. Since they knew how volatile Zalman was, they wanted to see how he would act on his deathbed. They went and climbed up the latticework of his home so that they could get a good, clear, view into his room through the window.

There he lay on his deathbed, with no other thought than that he was about to leave this world. Surrounded by his family and the chevrah kadishah, about to say viduy and kriyas Shema for the very last time, he suddenly spotted the children clinging to the window frame and staring in at him.

Completely unable to contain his fury, Zalman began to scream at the children to come down from the window. Using his very last ounce of strength, Zalman died shrieking and flailing his arms and legs, just as he had over every minor incident throughout his long life.

Rav Shalom Shwardron, zt”l, would end this story by saying, “This is what happens to a person who doesn’t refine his middos. Whatever bad trait besets him the most is the one that comes back to haunt him in the end!”

Hashem Cries over Three…

"...על שלשה הקב"ה בוכה בכל יום..."

Once, the Ahavas Shalom, zt”l, came to visit at the home of his wealthy uncle in Kolomaya. To his distress, he noticed that this uncle didn’t give charity as a man of his means ought. At the same time, the man did learn Torah with tremendous diligence.

The Ahavas Shalom approached his host one day and said, “In Chagigah 5b we find that Hashem cries over three people: one who can learn but fails to, one who can’t learn and does, and a leader who lords it over the community. The well known question is, why does He cry for one who cannot learn but does anyway? What is this person doing wrong?

The Ahavas Shalom mused, “One possible answer is that each person comes to this world to correct his flaws. A person who has no assets and can learn is apparently here to learn and teach Torah. One who has great assets but has difficulty learning is primarily here to give charity. One who has the capacity to learn and also has a lot of money is here to do both. For such a person, one with out the other is simply not enough. If such a person learns and thinks that this absolves him of his obligation to give tzedakah, he is tragically mistaken. Hashem cries over the fate of that man! Unless he changes his ways, this person will not do what he needs to in this lifetime and will be forced to return again to this world to rectify his neshamah. We see something similar from the fact that Daniel told Nevuchadnezzar that his sins would only be absolved through charity.

The Ahavas Shalom then turned to his uncle and proclaimed, “Don’t you understand? For a man of your means, learning alone is simply insufficient!”

Hidden Agendas

Subconscious motives are very subtle and hard to detect. Even people on the highest level can be subject to them as the following story illustrates.

Shavuos with Rav Issur Zalman Meltzer, zt”l, was extraordinary in every way. The learning was fervently intense, as was the davening and the joy of Yom Tov itself. The divrey Torah at the meals were profound and heartfelt. It was an experience that many bochurim would not forgo for any price! One year during the middle of Shavuos-night learning, the bochurim were dancing and cake and coffee were being served as is customary. At this point, the Alter of Slabodka, zt”l, arrived at the Yeshiva.

He said to them in his penetrating way, “You may not realize this, but you really need to make a deep cheshbon hanefesh why you are here awake at this late hour. It is just possible that while you think your motives are pure and you are up because you want closeness to Hashem, your main reason is just to enjoy the refreshments! If so, this obviously is not related to the fact that Hashem gave us the Torah on this most holy day!”

Rav Issur Zalman exclaimed, “How can you even say that someone might be here for the refreshments and not the learning?”

The Alter removed a Moed Katan from the shelf and turned to page 20b.

He read, “Mar Ukva wanted to observe the laws of mourning over his brother-in-law. Rav Huna said to him, ‘You really want to eat tsudanaysa.’ Rashi explains that this is the meal served to the mourner.”

The Alter concluded, “So we see that one can even be willing to assume the laws of mourning and his main motivation could still be the good food!”

Shalom, Shalom!

" שאלו תלמידיו את רבי זירא ואמרי לה לרב אדא בר אהבה במה הארכת ימים אמר להם מימי לא הקפדתי בתוך ביתי..."

On Taanis 20 find that when Rav Ada bar Ahava was asked in what merit he had been blessed with such incredible longevity, he answered, “In my entire life, I never got angry at home.” Home doesn’t necessarily only mean at home, but with his wife in particular. As Rabi Yosi said, “I never called my wife, my wife, but rather my home.” (Shabbos 118b)

It once came to the notice of Rav Rafael of Barashad, zt”l, that his wife was spending beyond their means. People approached him and said that their income was not sufficient to cover her somewhat extravagant purchases on behalf of the household, and that he ought to take the matter in hand. Knowing that he had no choice but to confront her about it, he went home.

When Rav Rafael arrived, his wife was dutifully awaiting him. Instead of entering the house as he normally would, he immediately walked in and sat down on a bench. He said feelingly, “Dear heart! My crown! Shalom, Shalom, Shalom!”

His wife was somewhat perplexed by this effusive greeting, and waited to hear what else Rav Rafael had to say.

He continued in a gentle voice, with a smile on his face, “I’ve heard that you have been spending a lot of money, more money that we really have. Now, the Shelah HaKadosh says clearly that a single argument drives away a hundred livelihoods. So could it be that the solution is to have a fight with you over this? Will it make the problem go away? Quite the contrary! That’s why I say: Shalom, Shalom Shalom! Peace, peace, peace!”

Feeling the Presence of the King

During his younger years, the Beis Halevi zt”l learned in a designated room in his father-in-law’s house. His father-in-law, a chossid of Rav Moshe of Kovrin zt”l, had agreed at the beginning of their relationship that he would never disturb his son-in-law’s study for any reason whatsoever.

Once, Rav Moshe came to visit at his follower’s home. Although the Beis Halevi’s father-in-law wanted his Rebbe to meet his son-in-law, he couldn’t see how it would be possible to introduce them since this would mean interrupted his constant learning. On the day his Rebbe was going to leave he had an idea. He couldn’t interrupt his son-in-law…but someone else could! When he noticed that the Beis Halevi had left his room for a moment, he placed Rav Moshe’s luggage inside. When the Beis Halevi returned and resumed his study, the Rebbe knocked at the door.

“What do you want?” the Beis Halevi asked.

“My bags are here. May I come in?”

The Beis Halevi was just then learning the final section of Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim. Rav Moshe asked, “What about the first subsection? Do you manage to fulfill it?”

The Beis Halevi answered, “I work on shivisi Hashem l’negdi fifteen times a day. But I’m always troubled that although the Rama says that imagining being in the all-knowing presence of the King immediately fills a person with fear, it takes me time to feel it.”

The Rebbe explained, “That is because you are thinking with your head. Fear of Heaven is in one’s heart, and it takes time to reach from your head to your heart. That’s why the Rama says to ‘place it on his heart’—not ‘on his head!’”

The Thoughts of Sin

"הרהורי עבירה קשו מעבירה"

“The thoughts of sin are worse than sin itself.” The Toras Avos zt”l explains that “thoughts” refers to the character defects that are the growth medium in which sin propagates. What makes those defects worse is that they also provide the mechanism by which we rationalize that the sins are actually mitzvos. And if we feel that the sin was justified, that it was a mitzvah, how can we possibly repent of it? Even Yom Kippur cannot atone for sins to which we don’t admit, and that we don’t regret!

The author of the Tumim zt”l was in a certain city for Yom Kippur, seated on the eastern wall next to a prominent resident. His neighbor clearly prayed with intense concentration and emotion, and focused especially on the words, “I am dust during my lifetime, and all the more so after death.” He repeated the phrase over and over, and wept over each word, long after everyone had finished their prayers. When he finally finished, the gabbai notified him that he was to receive a certain aliyah.

The prominent man responded as passionately as he prayed—but quite a bit louder. “Are you meshuggah? How can you give me an aliyah that isn’t shlishi or shishi?”

The Tumim couldn’t restrain himself. “Just this very moment you were crying intensely that you are nothing but dust! How can you possibly argue with the gabbai for not honoring your distinguished self?”

His disgruntled neighbor defended himself. “True, I cried about the fact that I am dust before Hashem…but what does that have to do with how I speak to the gabbai? Just because I’m dust, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have to give me shlishi! What a chutzpah!”

Afterward, the Tumim remarked, “You see how it is possible to cry intensely for a long time that one is just dust, and not believe it for a single moment!”

The Straps that Bind

The midrash in Shir HaShirim teaches that even the simplest Jew is full of mitzvos like a pomegranate bursts with seeds.

Rav Shmuel Hominer zt”l once organized a group of respected Rabbonim and traveled with them to Eilat to encourage Torah observance. During their stay in the town, Rav Hominer attempted to get as many of the locals as he could to put on tefillin, knowing the power of a single mitzvah. Most men he approached were willing to humor him, but one turned out to be a tough customer.

“I already told you, Rabbi… It’s very kind of you to offer, but I happen to be an atheist!”

“Chas v’shalom! You’re a Yid—you’re no atheist! Why not put them on for just a minute?” The man resisted, but Rav Hominer insisted, and after a long struggle he gave in.

With a broad smile, Rav Hominer said, “Now, repeat after me. Boruch…”

“Wait! I just told you I’m an atheist—I’m not going to say that!”

“Chas v’shalom! You’re no atheist! Now, repeat after me…” The two men struggled for another few minutes, but the man was again won over by Rav Hominer’s good-natured persistence, and did as he was asked.

The next morning, this man went to the local grocery. He approached the register with a few items, and the storekeeper reached behind the counter and handed him his usual breakfast—a sandwich of treife meat. The man held up his hand and waved the parcel away with an obvious look of disgust.

“What’s the matter?” asked the grocer. “You eat this every day!”

“You expect me to eat that? I put on tefillin with a brochah yesterday—I can’t eat that today!”

The Reward of Joy

Once, a wedding party passed the home of Rav Zushia of Anapoli zt”l, and he immediately ran outside to dance in the street before the bride and groom. Afterward, his family disapproved, claiming that it did not befit him to caper in the streets.

He answered, “When I was a young disciple of the Zlotchover Maggid, he once insulted me. Afterward, he apologized and begged forgiveness, which I gave right away. Before I went to bed that night, he came and begged forgiveness again, and I forgave him.

“As soon as I fell asleep, my Rebbe’s holy father, Rav Yitzchok Terhovitzer, came to me and said: I left only one son in this world, and you want to destroy him just because he insulted you?!

“I insisted that I had forgiven him, but he said, ‘Come with me, and I will teach you what forgiveness is.’

“I followed him to the mikveh, where he told me to immerse three times, and to say that I forgive his son before each immersion.”

“As soon as I got out, I saw that his face was shining with an almost unbearable light. When I asked him about it, he said that this is the reward he received for never taking honor at another’s expense, never going to bed angry at a friend, and not standing on his rights about money.”

The Terhovitzer then added: “But you can attain this reward through joy alone.”

Reb Zushia then smiled. “Do you see now why I danced in the streets?”

The Parnossah Path

When Rav Uri of Strelisk zt”l passed away, although many of his chassidim became attached to Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin zt”l they still held fast to the path laid down by their original Rebbe. In stark contrast to the way of Rav Yisroel, Rav Uri tended to denigrate materialism, and encouraged his followers to dedicate their energy to avodas Hashem exclusively. Although many of these men were poor and barely managed to support their families, the Ruzhiner Rebbe noticed that none of his new followers ever included a request for parnassah on their kvitlach.

The Rebbe called them together and said, “The halachah is clear. One who reads the first verse of Shema without proper focus has not fulfilled his obligation. The consensus is that he must repeat it and concentrate fully. A similar halachah exists about the verse פותח את ידך ומשביע לכל חי רצון. If one failed to focus on it properly, one must repeat it.”

He then asked pointedly, “Why do you choose to emphasize the first halachah, and ignore the second?”

The Tie is Not Severed

“Rav Huna said: When a person repeats a sin, it is permitted [hutra] for him. [The gemara asks] Permitted for him—could it be?! No—it is just that, in his mind, it is as though it is permitted. (Yuma 87)”

The Shem Mishmuel zt”l explains that hutra also means to untie a knot. Every Jew is bound to our Father in heaven, but when one does a sin this connection is weakened. If one repeats the sin, the knot is severed [hutar]. But, “Could it be?” Could one ever really sever the connection between oneself and Hashem? The gemara concludes, “In his mind, it is as though it is severed.” It is as though, but it isn’t really.

One of the ways that this bond can appear to be severed is when a person indulges in depression because of his sins. Rav Noach of Lechvitch zt”l once said, “If a Jew succumbs to temptation or manifests a character defect, he must not allow himself to fall into the trap of self-absorbed despondency, but must do teshuvah instead.

“This could be compared to two servants of the king who were sent to war, one wise and the other foolish. During the battle, the wise one took a hit, but he decided that the middle of a battlefield is no place to attend to a minor wound. The foolish servant also sustained a minor injury, but he decided to immediately attend to it. He stopped shooting, became an easy target, and was killed immediately.

“Similarly, one who sustains a ‘flesh wound’ while fighting his inclination could easy fall into depression. But this will destroy his ability to focus on prayer or Torah study, his main weapons in the war! This leaves him completely vulnerable. Every soul is rooted in the olam hata’anug, the supernal world of delight, and anyone who does not feel pleasure in serving Hashem is automatically drawn after material pleasures. The only solution is to immediately change direction by doing teshuvah. This simply means resolving not to do the sin again!”

The Sanctity of Shabbos

When the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, stayed in Riga during the winter of 5672 (1912), he was appalled to find that many Jews there were desecrating the Shabbos publicly. Storekeepers would keep their businesses open into Shabbos, and this had been going on for years in the town. Riga’s market was full of Jewish stores that were open for business as usual on Shabbos!

The Chofetz Chaim convened an emergency meeting of all the shomrei Shabbos of the city to come up with some plan of action to change the situation. After long and intense debate, the only practical solution that seemed viable was the gadol’s suggestion: on that very Friday, the shomrei Shabbos were to form small groups and go to all of the Shabbos-desecrating stores near candle-lighting time. They were not, under any circumstances, to argue or debate or even to raise their voices. They were only told to gently remind the shopkeeper: “Now is the time to close because it’s Shabbos.” After this, they were to move on to another store and repeat their reminder.

The Chofetz Chaim stressed that the only way they could be successful was through peaceful action. And the dividends of this simple suggestion were astronomical—almost every store closed. A city that had once been a den of chilul Shabbos was transformed through the simple advice of the gadol. The simple reminder of the sanctity of Shabbos!

Honor Your Father and Mother

The fifth commandment is to honor one's parents.

The famous Yehudi HaKadosh, zt"l, would deliver a regular Gemara shiur to his students that explored the commentary of Tosfos. One of his students was an extremely talented local boy who was unfortunately orphaned of his father. Once, the Rebbe interrupted their learning so that he could concentrate deeply on a certain subject. His young student knew well that such a break could last an hour or more, so he took advantage of the pause to go home and eat.

The boy ate a quick meal and hurried out back to his Rebbe's home, but his mother called out after him that she wanted him to go up to the attic and bring something down for her. In his rush to return to study, he ignored her call, but half-way back the boy had second thoughts. "Isn't the whole purpose of study to fulfill the mitzvos? Shouldn't I honor my mother instead?" he asked himself. So he ran home and did as he was bid.

Afterward he returned to his studies, and as he opened the door to the Rebbe's house, the Yehudi HaKadosh snapped out of his reverie and rose to his full height as a sign of respect. Beaming, the Yehudi HaKadosh asked, "What mitzvah have you just performed, because it has brought the spirit of the great Amorah Abaye with you into my house."

The student told his story, and the Rebbe explained to the rest of the students: "It is well known that Abaye was an orphan—his name is an acronym of the verse, 'For in You does the orphan find mercy.' ('Asher B'cha Yerucham Yasom .') This is why his spirit accompanies a person who fulfills the mitzvah of honoring his parents—so that he should have a part in a mitzvah that was denied to him. You want to know why am I smiling? Because Abaye came and answered my question on the Tosafos!"

The Power of Prayer

Someone asked the Brisker Rav if it was worth the effort to make a Beis Yaakov school in a secular area. After all, how much good was it likely to do?

The Gadol responded immediately, "This is definitely worthwhile! Let me tell you a true story regarding a young girl who attended just such a school.

After a short time she decided to do teshuvah, but since whenever she brought this up her parents opposed her, she kept her observance to herself. The parents owned a general store that was open on Shabbos, and one Friday, her parents went away and left her in charge. As soon as they were on the road, she went and set up the store for business, so that at least she wouldn’t have to turn on lights on Shabbos itself.

The next morning, she opened shop, sat herself down over her Tehillim, and cried. “Please, Hashem, keep people away today!” For hours, she davenned her heart out, and no customer came to disturb her. As the day drew on, the girl realized that if not a single purchase was made her parents would suspect that she hadn’t opened the store at all.

“Hashem,” she prayed, “I don’t know how to get out of this. But please help me anyway!” She threw herself into her Tehillim again.

During the late afternoon, someone came in and started searching for something specific. He found the item, an inexpensive piece of hardware that happened to be out of stock in other stores, and approached the girl so that he could pay for it. When he asked the price, she responded, “That costs 'x'.” She named an exorbitant price hoping to force him to change his mind.

“What?” he exclaimed. “You must be making a mistake! It’s only worth a fraction of that!”

“Take it or leave it,” she said, still hoping to drive him off.

Because he was in real need of the item, the customer tried to whittle down the price. The girl was obstinate, but he persisted. She asked him to wait until her parents arrived, but he demanded the item right away—even at twice the stated price! Again, she refused, and as they were speaking, Shabbos ended. The girl said, “Baruch HaMavdil,” and explained her strange behavior

Saying, “I never go back on my word,” the man paid her his final offer and left. When her parents arrived, the girl showed them the large sum and told them the whole story. They were so amazed that they decided to close the store on Shabbos from then on. Eventually, they became Torah observant in every respect!

Proper Rebuke

Once, a certain Maggid came to Radin and heard the Chofetz Chayim zt”l speak on the greatness of tochachah. The Gadol concluded, “If you have been blessed with an ability to speak effectively in public, you must use it to help people change.”

The visiting Maggid approached the Chofetz Chayim and said, “Rebbi, while I was in another town recently, I saw that the community was lax about many halachos. During Shabbos, I stood before the people and tried to wake them up with a fiery derashah. But I had to step down in the middle after a fight broke out and the congregation threatened to remove me by force!”

“What was your delivery like?” asked the Chofetz Chayim.

The Maggid was taken aback. “What does my delivery have to do with it? I saw the situation in the town and couldn’t remain silent. Naturally, I shouted my rebuke as loud as I could!”

The Gadol chided the man, “Did you shout when you put on your tefillin this morning? What makes you think you should shout when fulfilling another mitzvah called tochachah?”

The Pitchfork of Prayer

"למה נמשלה תפלתן של צדיקים כעתר..."

The gemara in Sukka 14 states, “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.”

Interestingly, the Chofetz Chaim virtually paraphrases the words of Rav Noson of Breslov, zt”l, who discussed this issue at length.

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!”

Rebbe Nachman also said that one should pray about even the most insignificant material need since this deepens ones relationship with Hashem. Besides, one who often asks for physical things will likely be too embarrassed not to ask regarding the spiritual too!

Spirit of the Law--Tu B'Shevat II

On the subject of Tu B’Shevat, the Chidushei HaRim, zt”l, shares a very powerful concept: the “new year’s” judgment of Tu B’shvat primarily determines one’s access to novel Torah concepts (chidushei Torah) for the upcoming year.

Rav Nosson of Breslov, zt”l, writes that there are two levels of chidushei Torah. The first is the joy and rapture of bearing and sharing the fruit of one’s Torah learning, bringing down and sharing novel Torah concepts. This is the spiritual root of the sweetness of fruit to the palate. Without this feeling of sweetness, a person has virtually no genuine connection to Torah even if he or she learns assiduously and innovates novel interpretations. The second, lower, level of chidush is accessing a feeling of renewal and connection from every bit of Torah learning, prayer, and avodah even when there is nothing objectively novel about the concepts in which one is immersed. One still feels a powerful joy and connection, and this is the ultimate fruit of Torah study, as we say in the daily blessing: “Hashem, please make Torah learning sweet in my mouth.”

May we merit renewal and connection every day of the coming year, each person on his own level, in his own way. Tu B’Shevat is the time to pray for newness in Torah, especially in the Oral Torah, since Shevat was the month during which Moshe began to transmit the book of Devarim, which is the nucleus of all Oral Torah. This is the time that Moshe began to “Be’er es haTorah”—“explain the Torah”—but the word for explain is be-er, the well, which parallels the mazal of this month, the D’li, or water-bearer. May Hashem help us all to feel true joy and connection in our efforts to “draw up and pour out” the waters of the Torah! Without the joy, where are we?

Rav Yisroel Salanter zt”l had a student who was famous for his diligence as well as his creative thinking; he had the distinction of being both a masmid and a mechadeish. This bochur studied many years under Rav Yisroel, but one day, to the shock and dismay of all the other students, the “prodigy” went off the derech!

When the terrible news was brought to the Rav, he displayed no surprise at all.

“During all the years that I oversaw this student’s progress, I never glimpsed the least glimmer of joy on his face. He worked very hard to grasp the depth of a subject, but it was obvious that he was never really moved by any of his chiddushim. He never allowed himself to be connected to the Torah, and so it was easy for him to fall away!”

A Circle of Tzaddikim

"עתיד הקב"ה לעשות מחול לצדיקים..."

Rav Leible Eiger, zt”l, once asked his grandfather, Rabbi Akiva Eiger, zt”l, to explain the Gemara on the last daf in Taanis. It recounts that in the ultimate future, HaKadosh Boruch Hu will form a circle of the righteous with Himself at the center, so to speak. Each tzaddik will point to Him and say, “This is Hashem for whom we hoped and yearned.

Rav Leibele asked, “What is the meaning of this image of the tzaddikim in a circle with Hashem in the middle being pointed at, as it were?”

Rabbi Akiva Eiger answered, “In this world, each tzaddik serves Hashem differently via his own unique path to holiness. In the ultimate future, however, it will be revealed that all of these seemingly diverse paths really lead to the same destination: connection to Hashem. This is the meaning of this image of a circle; not that they will actually stand in a circle pointing toward Hashem in the middle, but that it will be revealed to all just who was truly righteous, and that each of their apparently disparate paths were really one at the center—they were each motivated by the selfsame hope: to come close to Hashem in accordance with each of their unique natures.”

Someone from Lithuanian stock was approached about a match for his daughter with a young man who was a chossid. Although this bothered the prospective father-in-law, the young man in question happened to be an exceptional scholar and was known to possess profound yiras shomayim. The girl’s father decided to speak the matter over with the Brisker Rov, zt”l.

After hearing about the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the young man, the Brisker Rov said, “Nowadays, what is the real difference between a chossid and a misnaged anyway? Is it just that the chossid makes a l’chayim after the fish at the Shabbos meal? Is that really such a terrible thing? Such an insignificant detail should not concern you in the least!”

Kindness to Animals

The Chazon Ish, zt”l, once spotted a non-kosher animal that had fallen into a deep ditch. The animal tried with all its might to climb out of the rut without success. The gadol was then with a group of people who seemed to look on the situation with resignation. They all just shrugged, as if to say, “What can we do?”
The Chazon Ish, on the other hand, really took the poor animal’s pain to heart. Without waiting for assistance from the others, he approached the pit and lowered himself down into it. Those with him could barely believe their eyes. Could it be that the Chazon Ish was actually carrying a beheimah temeiah out of the ditch in his arms to set it free?

A Child’s Obligation

Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, zt”l, was once spending Shabbos at a man’s home, when the three-year-old son of his host climbed onto the Shabbos table and walked across it to grab a grape. The boy’s father gave him a smack for his misbehavior.

Rav Yaakov told the father that his action was inappropriate. Had the boy been chutzpadik, a smack would have indeed been in order; chutzpah is an ingrained bad middah that must be corrected early. If steps are not taken while the child is young, the boy would be uncontrollably arrogant by the time he reached his teens.

“However,” continued Rav Yaakov, “your son is unlikely to walk across a table when he is a teenager, so you do not need to discipline him so sharply for it now. By all means, explain that it is not correct, but save the smack for something that deserves it!”

Although the father mentioned in this anecdote was unaware of the halachah, there were some Gedolim who understood this concept even as children.

One Yom Kippur, the young boy who would grow to be the Avnei Nezer, zt”l, went home to eat. When he returned after his meal, his father asked if he had made kiddush.

The prodigy responded, “I only do mitzvos because of the rabbinical obligation of chinuch. Since when I will be an adult I will certainly fast on Yom Kippur like all other Jews, there is no reason for me to have made kiddush now. It is not chinuch for me to learn what I will not be doing when I will be grown!”

Spirit of the Law, Shabbos III (Kitzur, chapter 72:6)

6) A universal custom among the Jewish people involves baking challah in honor of Shabbos... Even if bread baked by a Jew is available, each household should bake so that the woman of the house can take challah from the dough, etc.

Rav Nosson explains one of the deeper reasons behind lighting candles and taking challah in honor of Shabbos, as well as why the performance of these mitzvos is the woman's perogative.

Rebbe Nachman explained the verse, “Hashem is close to all who call...to Him in truth,” in a novel way. No matter where you have fallen, if you will just call to the Creator in truth on your own level, He will surely reveal Himself to you since He is close to any who call in truth. Even if all you can do is say, "please help me," this will also reveal the portals that lead out of spiritual darkness to the illuminationof true connection.

Shabbos candles represent the light of truth that cuts through the deepest darkness and illuminates the path back to holiness, since Shabbos represents the next world which is the ultimate truth. Speaking even one word in truth illuminates the most mundane situation and brings closeness to Hashem, much as Shabbos imbues the mundane with sanctity.

The truth was easily discernible before Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When they ate, “the light of the world was extinguished.” This means that before they ate, they existed in a more enlightened state and could easily tell the difference between right and wrong. After they ate, evil went from being external and noticeable to internal and difficult to discern.

Their intention when eating was to intensify their challenges so that they could ultimately afford Hashem more pleasure when they toiled to choose good over evil. Their mistake was that they should have done what Hashem said regardless of what they understood to be more beneficial spiritually. Hashem had said not to eat from the fruit; they should not have eaten.

Challah is set aside for a kohein, a direct male descendant of Aharon who is referred to as the "man of truth" in the verse. The kohein is the paradigm of the tzaddik who has more connection to the truth than the average person. By giving him the challah, he demonstrates how we can connect even our bread to the ultimate Source, the absolute truth of all creation.

Forging a connection with a kohein galvanizes a person to redouble his efforts in his quest for truth and holiness.

Nowadays the challah is not given to a kohein, but it is burned. The very fact that we separate a small amount of dough and yearn to give it to a kohein and attain the lofty connection this brings connects us to the higher aspect of striving for truth. It has the required effect as though we had given the challah to a kohein.

Women as a whole were affected by Chava's sin to a great extent. (This is in accordance with the relevant verses as well as Midrashic, Talmudic, and Kabbalistic teachings on them. The subject is a very broad one that will be addressed later on in the series.) The rectification of this is that women work to restore the truth to the world by lighting Shabbos candles and increasing their levels of truth by giving challah. This explains a little of why we separate challah before Shabbos and why women have the especial perogative to fulfill the mitzvah.

May Hashem fill us with the truth and the light of Shabbos!

The Right Shidduch

The Ramban, zt”l, writes that if a child abandons the Torah path this generally indicates deep flaws on the part of the parents.

A yeshiva bochur once came to Rav Shach, zt”l, deeply perplexed about a possible shidduch that had been brought to his attention. The girl seemed perfect in every way and was seeking someone who wanted to remain in learning. The only negative thing he had heard about her was that she was purported to be not very intelligent. This worried him, because he feared that if he married a woman lacking a sharp mind they would be less likely to have intelligent children.

Rav Shach explained that raising successful children depends on one thing only—how much yir’as shomayim the parents have.

“How can you know how much yir’as shomayim a person has? If his every move is calculated to bring pleasure to Hashem and if he is very careful about other people’s money, you know that he fears G-d. Another way you can see yir’as shomayim in the home is when the parents are always willing to give in to one another, and when there is always an atmosphere of joy in the house surrounding mitzvos. Similarly, one should be able to see how a person is upset if he falls spiritually.”

“The main trait to look for in a wife is that she recoils from sin like from fire. And that she loves her fellow Jews and does chessed and has good middos, and most especially, that she is not materialistic. This is how you will merit to have children who grow up to be great scholars and tzaddikim with profound yir’as shomayim. The intellectual abilities of the parents are actually irrelevant to the development of the children’s potential. The only thing of real significance is yir’as shomayim!”

Spirit of the Law- Tu B'Shvat I

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Chapter140 #26) The fifteenth of Shevat is Rosh Hashana for trees...The custom is to eat many different species of fruit on this day.

Rav Nosson of Breslov, zt"l, writes that every human being is always longing for Hashem. A Jew's longing for connection to Hashem is even more powerful. Usually, this longing gets channeled into other areas. People mistakenly think they yearn for money, honor or physical pleasures such as food. Attaining these never satisfies in a lasting way however, since the source, the inner desire for closeness to Hashem has not been addressed, just stifled.

When the Maharil Diskin, zt”l, was asked why the gemara compares the sinners of Israel to a pomegranate, he responded “A pomegranate has a hard exterior upon which no good is noticeable. It is only if you open it up, and delve into it’s depths that one finds the many, many good seeds in the Rimon.” Even if you peel off the outer shell you see only the white insides. You only find the seeds by breaking through the bad. Similarly, every Jew is a neshama kedosha which is always yearning with a powerful longing for his source. "

On Tu B'Shvat the sap begins to rise in trees. It is partially due to this process that the tree later develops in the spring. This is why it is Rosh Hashannah for trees.

The verse states, "Man is as a tree of the field."The "sap" of each person is the hidden inner essence of each person, their fiery longing for Hashem. Like the sap of trees, the inner essence of each person is aroused on Tu B'Shevat. Connecting to our inner longing is the prerequisite for all spiritual growth.

This is one reason we eat fruits on this holy day. We acknowledge the correlation between bearing spiritual fruits and arousing our powerful yearning for Hashem. The more we connect to our powerful inner longing for Hashem, the more spiritual fruit we will bear in the coming year. The less we connect, the more this longing will be misdirected towards the material and the less spiritual growth we will yield. It is our choice.

May Hashem help us to grow and thrive, and bear an abundance of spiritual fruit.

To be continued...

You Can't Fall From the Ground

The Beis Avrohom of Slonim zt”l told the following story:

The famous brothers, Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk and Reb Zusia of Anapoli zt”l, once had a disagreement about serving Hashem: Should one first work on humility and then rise to see the greatness of Hashem, or instead start by focusing on G-d’s greatness, which naturally leads to humility? They traveled to their mentor, the holy Mezritcher Maggid zt”l, to put their quandry before him.

“Rebbe, which is the better way?” they asked.

“Both paths are divrei Elokim Chayim!” smiled the Maggid.

“But isn’t one better than the other?” they pressed him again.

The Maggid paused a moment and then answered, “Both paths lead to Hashem, but only one is absolutely secure—the way of beginning with humility, and then looking up toward His greatness.”

“You can see this from the old saying: you can’t fall from the ground!”

The Beis Avrohom zt”l applies this concept to the haggadah, about which Chazal said, “It begins in disgrace and ends in praise.” We are first humbled by seeing where we come from—our ancestors served idols, and is there anything worse than that? We needed to be built from the ground up, and in the end, “Hashem drew us close to serve Him!”