Bilvavi Author's Schedule in the U.S now Available

I received the following email from my friend "Dixie Yid": B'Ezras Hashem, the author of the Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh seforim, Rav Itamar Shwartz,shlita, will be arriving in the United States next Sunday September 7th until the following Sunday, September 14th. He will be speaking in Boca Raton, FL, Manhattan, Baltimore, MD, Monsey, NY, Woodmere, NY for Shabbos, Five Towns/Far Rockaway, Northern New Jersey and Brooklyn. A full schedule can be viewed here
טעמו וראו

If Not Now, When?

Chazal exhort us to take advantage of the special accessibility to Hashem afforded us leading up to and during the aseres yimei teshuvah. Rav Chaim Brisker, zt”l, once explained this idea with a parable:
There was once a Polish town that lay close to the Russian border. Because of the constant skirmishes between the two countries, the border shifted several times. At one point, the border intervened between the town and its Jewish cemetery, and this caused great problems for the Jews. Every burial meant undergoing interrogation and cross-examination by the intransigent border guard.
The Jews appealed to the authorities, and managed to reach an agreement so that funeral processions would not be stopped as they crossed the border and the Jews could bury their dead without the indignity of delay. Some enterprising locals soon realized that this was a golden opportunity to smuggle contraband across the border. They dressed up as Jews, filled a coffin with illegal goods, and successfully carried it across. Delighted with their plan, they repeated it several times over the succeeding weeks.
One night, the border guard heard the merry sound of singing and laughing. Looking out from his hut, he spotted a group of “Jews” carrying a coffin towards the border. Suspicious, he stopped them and asked to see inside the coffin. The “Jews” refused to open it, saying, “Don’t we have an agreement that Jewish burial parties may pass?” The guard insisted, and discovered the contraband. Well aware of the deep trouble they had gotten themselves into, the smugglers all fell to their knees and began crying and pleading for mercy.
“Fools!” said the guard. “Had you cried before, you wouldn’t have to cry before me now!”
“Similarly,” concluded Rav Chaim, “When trouble descends on people in the middle of the year they cry and plead with Hashem. They don't realize that if they had cried during the auspicious time of Elul, and especially during the yomim noraim and aseres yimei teshuvah, they would not have had these troubles to begin with!”

Teshuvah and Elul

The Gemara teaches us that kings are judged prior to their subjects, and one reason for this is that the earlier one is judged the better. The later it gets, the angrier the Judge becomes, so to speak. The Toldos Adam, zt”l, says that the monarch of our Gemara refers to a righteous man who is compared to a king (Gittin 49). He works very hard to prepare himself for judgment, and starts long before the appointed day. Because he is more sensitive to the ramifications of being judged, he is prepared earlier, is judged earlier, and fares that much better for it!
Rav Chaim Solevetchik, zt”l, the Rav of Brisk, told a parable to illustrate this point.
“Once, a man wanted to smuggle some merchandise across the border. He met with a wagon driver who specialized in such operations and made all the necessary arrangements. Although there was time until the appointed day, the merchant was anxious from the first moment. His nerves were so bad, and his conscience so guilty, that he literally had to stop himself from looking over his shoulder for the long arm of the law even though, as yet, he hadn’t done anything illegal.
“The wagon driver was not disconcerted in the slightest. For him, it was all business as usual. Even so, when the day finally arrived to more the merchandise, he too was also petrified. He kept looking over his shoulder for anyone who might be guarding the little known path that he had chosen. He was startled by the slightest sound and was ready to bolt at any provocation.
Rav Chaim concluded: “The only ones who had a good trip were the horses!”
He explained, “Some start to tremble as soon as Elul begins because they realize that everything is at stake: life, health, livelihood, family, and peace of mind. Others are less sensitive, but they at least have the sense to feel some anxiety on Rosh Hashanah itself. Then there are those people who are as insensitive as the horses—their minds are focused on one thing only: the trough!”

The Rav and the Dishonest Collector

Chazal tell us that we really ought to appreciate false solicitors of charity. Were it not for them, we would be held accountable for turning away any person in serious need. Since there are some rogues who do prey on the well-intentioned, we are no longer duty-bound to assume that everyone we meet who asks for our assistance is actually in desperate need. The Rif, zt”l, on Ein Yaakov explains we express our appreciation to the phonies…by giving them charity!
The Satmar Rav, zt”l, gave a great deal of tzedakah. It was well known that if one really needed money, the Rav could be convinced to pay out huge sums. Once, a man came before him and told him a heartbreaking tale about how his wife was sick and his children were also ill in different, horrific ways.
The Rav was exceedingly moved. On the table was a small bag that held a huge sum that one of his wealthy Chasidim had left as a pidyon nefesh, together with a kvitl. The Rav, clearly in distress from hearing the man’s tale of woe, immediately thrust the bag of money into the poor man’s hand. The man tearfully thanked the Rav and raced from the room, presumably to rush home and tell his family that their money problems at least were over.
A few minutes after the man had left, the Rav’s gabbai ran in, obviously flustered, and exclaimed, “Where is the man who was dressed in such-and-such a way?” He was obviously referring to the man with the sob story.
The Satmar Rav replied, “He just left.”
“But Rebbe, we must find him! He is a faker, a phoney! How will we get the money back from him? Did the Rebbe give him a large sum of money?” Although the gabbai was frantic, the Rebbe suddenly seemed to relax again.
The Rebbe asked, “You mean that story wasn’t true? Boruch Hashem—at least no Jew is suffering that kind of agony!” exclaimed the Rebbe.

The Rebbe's Kindness

When the Ponevezh Yeshiva built its new building, Rav Kahanaman, zt”l, assumed debts of massive proportion on his shoulders. The only conceivable way to cover this was an extended trip to collect funds in America.
This was his first visit to America, and he was fairly unknown in the New World. Not surprisingly, although he collected for many months he didn’t make much headway at all. As the day of his departure drew near, he decided to bid the Kapischnitzer Rebbe farewell.
The Rebbe asked, “How much did you succeed in collecting?”
The Ponevezher Rav burst into tears and confided to the Rebbe that he had not succeeded in making a fraction of what he owed and didn’t know how he was going to deal with the crushing burden of debt that remained on his shoulders.
After the Rav dejectedly left, the Rebbe started making phone calls. An hour later he had $10,000 for the Rav. The Rebbe’s son who told this story was not sure if this vast sum of money was borrowed or donated.
In those years this was a veritable fortune. The Rebbe asked his son to accompany him to the home where Rav Kahanaman was staying to give over the money.
When the Rav saw the money he again burst into tears. “In all the many weary months I spent soliciting donations I didn’t make anywhere near this sum!”
The Ponevezher Rav once said, “If I were to turn into a chossid I have a ready-made Rebbe, the Rebbe of Kapischnitz!”

The Mistaken Messenger

Once, a fairly wealthy man was in the middle of davening with the minyan of the Kotzker Rebbe, zt”l, when a breathless messenger burst into the shul. He pounced upon the wealthy man and said, “I am sorry to have to tell you this, but there was a fire on the edge of town and your factory was burned to the ground!”
The factory was the wealthy man’s sole source of livelihood. Apparently, the blaze had dragged him down from riches to rags. Completely overwhelmed by grief, he fainted dead away. After a few minutes, his fellow worshipers managed to revive him. As soon as he regained consciousness and he realized that all his wealth was lost, he fainted yet again.
When he woke up for the second time, he again recalled his loss and seemed on the verge of losing consciousness once again. At that moment, the Kotzker Rebbe, zt”l, interjected. He reassured the prostrate man, “Don’t worry, your factory is intact.”
The wealthy felt bolstered by the Rebbe’s words and slowly seemed to come back to himself. Just then, a second messenger arrived. He burst into the shul and trumpeted, “What the first messenger reported was a mistake! Your factory is safe.”
The relieved man was astounded that the Rebbe had known the truth and asked him whether this was ruach hakodesh.
The Kotzker Rebbe replied, “No, it was nothing like that. I could see that the challenge was far too much for you to handle, so it wasn’t possible that the first messenger had told the truth.”
The Chidushei HaRim, zt”l, explained this concept further, “In Kesuvos 33b, we find that if Chananiah, Mishael, and Azarya had actually been subject to torture they would have indeed bowed to Nevuchadnezzar’s idol. Why does the Gemara record this apparently insulting hypothesis? Clearly the object is not to denigrate these great tzaddikim! Chazal shared this with us so that we would understand that these three were not subject to torture because Hashem knew they couldn’t overcome the trial of torture! We learn a very important lesson from our Gemara: Hashem doesn’t give us more than we can handle!”

You Must Really Make an Effort!

{When I first saw this story I was reminded of this post:http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/2008/06/two-pet-peeves.html)
Rav Shach, zt”l, said, “When one person asks another for help, often the person being asked says that he will ‘try.’ This expression is said automatically in an offhand manner and is not seen as assuming an obligation at all. Often people believe that making no more than the slightest effort on his friend’s behalf is sufficient. They think that agreeing to make an effort means any kind of effort or no effort, but this is incorrect…”
Rav Shach would use the following story to illustrate why:
A young man once approached Rav Eliyahu Kamai, zt”l, the Mirrrer Rosh Yeshivah and requested financial aid for a worthy cause.
“I cannot give you the entire sum that you need,” Rav Kamai replied. “I will give you…” and he named a generous sum.
The bochur was not satisfied, though. “Please give the full sum. If you cannot, at least agree to try to procure the remainder from another source.”
Rav Kamai completely refused this request.
The bouchur was confused. “But all I ask is that you try. Why refuse such a small request?”
Rav Kamai replied, “Do you know the meaning of saying ‘I will try?’ In Gittin 30 we find the case of one who gave his wife a conditional divorce which will only take effect if the condition is fulfilled, and said, ‘This divorce will take effect if I do not appease you within thirty days.’ Rav Yosef explains that even if he tried to appease her but she was not amenable, the divorce takes effect. Surely, if he had given her a chest full of coins or made other great efforts, she would have been appeased! We see that Chazal understood ‘making an effort’ to mean something very different than what most people intend today. Today, people believe that this is just an expression without true meaning, but this is inaccurate. In light of this, how can you ask me to make an effort? Who can say he has fulfilled his obligation to ‘try’?”
Hashem should help us mean what we way and say what we mean.

Israel is Like a Mirror...

Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, zt”l, was known to be as sharp as a blade. He was a very pious and brilliant young man who amazed everyone who met him, from academic to Torah gaon to simple chassid.
Once, one of his Chasidim made the trip to Eretz Yisrael and visited with Rav Yisroel upon his return. When this chassid approached him, Rav Yisroel said, “Shalom Aleichem!” After the chasid responded as is customary, Rav Yisroel asked, “Nu, so how was it?”
The chassid, smart enough to realize that if he said one word against Eretz Yisrael, he would be in for a scathing rebuke, merely said, “Better I say nothing…”
“Do you know why we call ‘the Promised Land’ Eretz Yisrael?” asked the Rebbe.
“No,” replied the chassid.
“We call it Eretz Yisrael because every Jew who goes to this land sees the truth about himself. The land acts as a mirror reflecting his true spiritual status back at him. The reason you feel cold about Eretz Yisrael is not because that is the land’s true identity, since nothing could be further than the truth. You feel cold because you are spiritually apathetic! If a Jew who goes to Eretz Yisrael can’t find any good attribute which he can report, this bears a very telling witness about the true state of his spirituality!”

You Only Need to Do Your Best

Rav Zalman of Volozhin, zt”l, was a child prodigy. At fourteen he learned in the great beis medrash in Vilna, and was well known for his brilliance. Once, a certain man came to him and expressed a desire to say over a, “peirush tov on a Mishnah in Maseches D’mai.” Since the man, like so many Lithuanian Jews of that time, pronounced his shin as a sin, what he said sounded like, “peiros tov.”
The young Rav Zalman heard his visitor out, but he felt that the man’s interpretation was off. He felt a bit annoyed at having such bitter “peiros tov” thrust upon him, and he responded sharply after the man finished, “That isn’t peiros tov—it’s peiros d’mai!” Meaning, this is the awful “fruit” of the scholarship of an ignoramus.
As soon as the abashed man left, Rav Zalman was filled with remorse. How could he shame a fellow Jew who was talking in learning to the best of his ability? Even though they had spoken one on one and Rav Zalman hadn’t shamed him in public, there was no excuse for such behavior. He frantically started to search the town for the man to beg his forgiveness but to no avail. The man was nowhere to be found.
Rav Zalman searched for this man for well over a decade but still couldn’t find him. It was only with great difficulty that Rav Zalman’s son-in-law was able to stop him from undertaking a personal exile and taking up wandering throughout Lita so that he could admit his sin in every shul throughout the land in the hope of finding the wronged man.
When the Vilna Gaon heard about this, he summoned Rav Zalman to try and comfort and encourage him. The Gaon closed their conversation by saying, “You did everything you possibly could to find the wronged party and make amends. About just such a case the Chovos Halevavos writes in the tenth chapter of Sha’ar Hateshuvah, “If a person earnestly repents after having sinned against his friend bodily or monetarily, Hashem will cause a broad-mindedness and a love to enter his friend’s heart until he forgives him….”
Such was Rav Zalman’s faith in the Gaon, that although he certainly was already familiar with these words of the Chovos Halevavos, he was instantly comforted as soon as the Gaon uttered them!

How about Kibud Av?

Yitz asked an incisive question on my latest post: "What Will I Eat Tomorrow?"

"I have a lot of difficulty with the rationale of the punch line.

if you are really a baal bitachon, it's on HaShem's cheshbon...

isn't that the whole point?

if there is a cheshbon involved, why was his father not, not being a 'baal bitachon' on the chesbon of the other people less fortunate than himself?

how is he making a point that isn't challenging his father's point? as I assume he must be, out of kibud av."
My reply: "The answer is that bitachon is not so simple. Either you are achieving the level required or not, but it is exceedingly easy to fool yourself and immagine you are on the level when you are really not there at all. In this spirit Rav Nosson of Breslov said to his son, "I have enough bitachon for myself and my family but not for yours as well. You must work on your own bitachon."
Similarly, the Alter of Novardok would borrow money even when he didn't have any observable way to return it. When asked how he could do so, he explained that he was relying on bitachon. A thoughful man who was in debt asked him if he was also permitted to borrow money on his "bitachon account." The Alter's reply is very illuminating: "Only if you would lend that kind of money to someone who had absolutely no observable way to repay..."
The same is true regarding purchasing the needs of Shabbos with money one doesn't have (amd doesn't forsee is coming.) Although the gemara states that purchases for Shabbos etc. aren't deducted from the money designated for a person on Rosh Hashannah, The Chazon Ish and others explain that this is only true of someone who has bitachon...
The Birsker Rav's son didn't wish to certainly take away from his father's food and doubtfully bring in more for himself as a result of his bitachon (especially since it was a hard time.)
The question of why the Brisker Rav didnt act that way is not valid since different tzaddikim often take different paths. The Gemara even records that Shamai would save any unusual delicacies he encountered during the week for use on Shabbos while Hillel relied on bitachon...
His father wished to guide his son to work more on bitachon but the son had a different derech. One need not listen to his parent if he is drawn to a different path in Avodas Hashem just like he need not listen if his father insists that he learns in one yeshiva and he feels he will not do as well there as in another that his father doesn't like as much. (Interestingly, the Chazon Ish and Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurebach both said this regarding children drawn to Breslov whose parents objected.)
Thank you for your question. This is a very broad topic and there is much more to say about it but the above should suffice for now.

“What Will I Eat Tomorrow?”

It is hard for us in our comparatively wealthy society to imagine the destitution of Warsaw between the two World Wars. A debilitating shortage of food and the most basic amenities of life is something which virtually no one needs to deal with today outside of the third world. In Warsaw, people literally starved. A person who could afford to bring home enough bread for his family was considered very fortunate indeed. Understandably, most people would eat only the minimum of any food purchased so as to make their meager stores last as long as possible. Virtually no one knew where their next crust of bread would come from, literally.
Interestingly, the Brisker Rav, zt”l, would eat his fill and wouldn’t limit himself to save food from one day to the next. He constantly worked on bitachon and felt that leaving over was not appropriate for him. After all, in Sotah 48 Rabi Eliezer Hagadol proclaims that anyone who has bread in their basket yet asks, “What will we eat tomorrow?” has little faith.
In sharp contradistinction to the Brisker Rav completely eating his fill, his son, Rav Yosef Dov, zt”l, ate virtually nothing. The Brisker Rav could not chew the hard crusts of the breads. His son would eat only those and nothing else.
The Brisker Rav scolded him. “The only reason why we don’t have enough food for you too, is because you insist on eating only the crusts and not your full share of the bread. If you ate as much bread as you need, we would have enough for both of us.”
Rav Yosef Dov continued his practice of only eating the crusts however. Years later he explained, “I didn’t want to be a ba’al bitachon on my father’s cheshbon!”

The "Kilo" of Butter

Many years ago, in a small town outside of Israel, people lived quite harmoniously. The town had a Jewish baker, a Jewish dairyman, and so on. When the baker needed butter, which was often the case, he would go to the dairyman and purchase a kilogram block.
Once, when he purchased his usual measure of butter, he was struck that it seemed to be quite a bit lighter than a full kilo. The baker was very practiced at weighing amounts by feel since he needed to put the same amount of flour and water to produce equal breads of consistent quality every time he baked. The baker figured it was a fluke, however, and waited for his next purchase to see if the measure would be off again. On the following occasion, he was sure that he was being cheated. By the third time, the baker couldn’t control his anger and confronted the dairyman.
He accused, “I am paying you for a kilogram so why are you selling me much less? Maybe your scale is off.”
“This stick of butter is a kilo!” replied the indignant dairy seller. “If you think it’s less, then take me to a din Torah.”
Since the baker had plans to travel that very day to a nearby city where he would have access to a very accurate scale, he took the butter along and weighed it. What he saw infuriated him. The butter weighed precisely 800 grams.
The baker didn’t waste a moment. He hurried home and summoned the dairyman to a din Torah.
In front of the dayanim the baker intoned, “I weighed this butter on the accurate scale in the city. Although he claims it’s a kilo, it’s actually 800 grams.”
To the surprise of all, the dairy seller still denied it. “I will rush to bring the counterweight for my scales and your honors can see for yourselves if I perpetrate an injustice…”
When he reentered the court he held a loaf of bread in his hand. “I purchase this bread from our friend here every day. As everyone here knows, he claims it’s a kilogram loaf. If you place my butter against this bread on the scale you will see that the two are exactly even!”
The baker’s face turned beet red with embarrassment. How could he present a claim against the dairyman, when his “kilo loaf” weighed precisely 800 grams?

The Avodah of the Fifteenth of Av

A chossid once asked the Divrei Shmuel of Slonim, zt”l: “Why does the gemara in Taanis 26 state that there were no holidays like the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur? Why is the fifteenth of Av compared to Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year? Also, why isn’t Yom Kippur mentioned first?”
The Rebbe explained, “This is hinting that the days of teshuva begin on the fifteenth of Av and extend all the way to Yom Kippur! As he famous saying goes: Av is an acronym that spells Elul bah, Elul is on its way. Anyone who can arouse themselves to repent during these days of mercy should do so. Anyone who can’t should at least do so by contemplating the merit of their righteous ancestors. This will also work well. However, someone who simply cannot arouse himself to teshuva on the fifteenth of Av should take a different hint from the gemara. It tells us that the custom was that they would ‘borrow clothes one from the other.’ If a person feels uninspired to repent, he should ‘borrow’ inspiration from his friend or teacher who does feel aroused to change. Let such a person ask someone inspired what awakened him until he feels like he is beginning to wake up spiritually and start to do teshuva!”
The Lev Simcha, zt”l, answered differently: “There were no days for the Jewish people that could compare to the fifteenth of Av. The gemara is very clear that people would make matches on that day. So we see that one needs a very special measure of assistance from above to merit to make good shidduchim for oneself and one’s children. We should not take this for granted! Shidduchim are not a simple matter at all!”

A World Without Wind

The Ben Ish Chai, zt”l, once told a story to explain the meaning of the Talmud’s statement: “Just as the world cannot exist without wind, so too can the world not exist without the Jewish people.”
Once there was a man who would always purchase exclusive rights from the royal crown to fish in a certain area. Since he made a comfortable living, he renewed his lease yearly for a number of years. One year, the king consigned the lease for this living to another of his subjects. When the man heard this he was shocked to the core, and ran to petition his case before the king.
“Is this fair?” he cried. “Is this just? How could his majesty take away my living without even informing me?”
The king agreed that it was unfair but could not repeal a decree that he had already written. Instead, he offered to grant the former lessee another man’s rights to a different living.
The lessee objected. “This would mean that I am stealing another man’s livelihood!” he claimed. He said to the king, “You are the absolute ruler here. I want you to lease me the wind for ten thousand gold coins instead.”
The king and his advisors thought that he man was mad, but the king granted his novel request.
The owner of all rights to the wind went to all the different smiths in his town and all the ship captains and forced them to pay for using their sails and bellows that harness the wind. He also charged a fee of anyone who opened his window to catch a passing breeze. Finally, he charged everyone for the right to breathe! He made a fortune in the year that he was allowed these rights to the wind!
This is why the Jewish people are compared to the wind. Everyone needs the wind of their breath—no one can survive without it. So too, everyone is dependent on the Jewish people to live since the whole world exists in the merit of the Jewish people!

“Give Ma’aser, and You Will Become Wealthy…”

Someone once came to Rav Pinchas of Koritz, zt”l, and asked a question that was obviously troubling him. “In Taanis 9, we find that Chazal cite the phrase עשר תעשר, literally ‘you shall surely give a tenth of your earnings,’ and reinterpret the second word as t’asheir instead of t’aser. This alters the meaning to, ‘Give a tenth, so that you will become wealthy.’ Here we have an assurance that if we faithfully give away a tenth of our earnings, we will be successful financially. I have given ma’aser assiduously my whole life. Why, then, have I have not merited wealth?”
Rav Pinchas answered, “Let me tell you a true story about my neighbor that sheds light on your question. My neighbor is a wagon driver. He has good horses and he cares for them with great devotion, always providing them with the best food and shelter possible. As expected, the horses have always preformed well, and they run with great endurance in all types of weather. One time, the horses failed to follow orders. Although they were hitched to their wagon and primed to travel, they simply refused to move. Since their owner knew that his animals lacked nothing, their obstinacy infuriated him. He figured that they needed to be taught a lesson. He began to beat them, all the while repeating his command that they start moving. An onlooker shouted at the wagon driver, ‘You are cruel to your animals! They have done nothing wrong! How can you expect them to move if you have the brakes engaged?’”
“This is your problem too,” explained the Rav. “Giving ma’aser can propel one’s financial success forward just as the horses hitched to the wagon will propel it toward its destination. However, if the brakes are engaged at the same time, the driver won’t get anywhere at all. If you are braking by failing to observe Shabbos and kashrus properly, the horses are not to blame for your inability to reach your goal. You must release the break mechanism by doing teshuvah and changing your behavior!”

Gemara and Parnassa

A chossid once came to Rav Moshe of Lelov, zt”l, with a plea for help: “Rebbe, I don’t know what to do. I try so hard to make a living, but my parnassa is just not what it needs to be! Sometimes I go through a better period when I make money, but then just when it seems to be going well I suddenly lose everything I’ve gained. How can I attain more stability in my finances?”
The Lelover Rebbe answered, “What you need to do is accept upon yourself to learn gemara every day, and then you will certainly succeed. I learn this out from the gemara in Taanis 25. There, the gemara relates that Rav Chanina’s dire circumstances influenced him to pray that he would be granted a part of his eternal reward in this world so that he could secure some degree of material ease. He prayed and his prayers were answered; he was given one of the gold legs from his table in the next world. When his wife saw in a dream that their table in the next world would be missing a leg, unlike the rest of the righteous whose reward was untouched and still whole, they decided to give it back and it was accepted. The gemara concludes that the fact that the heavenly table leg was taken back was an even greater miracle than the first. They said because, ‘we have learned that one who has something given to him from on high does not have it taken back.’ But this can also be explained a different way. “Gemiri”—one who learns his set seder of gemara every day will be granted success from heaven that will not be taken back!”

Seeing a Tragedy

During the period that led up to the outbreak of World War I, tensions in Europe were at an all-time high. The conflicting nationalistic aspirations of numerous groups threatened the stability of all of Europe, and many monarchies were on the brink of civil war at home, and war over territorial claims at their borders. During the summer immediately preceding the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Yugoslavia that began World War I, Europe was aptly compared to a powder keg, just waiting for the final spark to set it alight.
At that time, a number of gedolim proposed that a universal fast be declared over the Jewish community and circulated a petition to garner support.
When the matter became known, a certain communal leader declared that his vehement opposition. He publicly stated, “Right now, the Jewish Communists, Socialists, Zionists, and Bundists are presenting an unprecedented affront to G-d. Why should we, orthodox Jewry, have to fast because of their sins?”
The petitioners responded with an obvious answer. “The Medrash says clearly that since we are all in the same boat, it doesn’t matter if it is someone else’s fault that we are sinking because he has decided to drill a hole! To save ourselves, we have to undo the damage made by the other person.”
And, as for not waiting for disaster to strike but rather making an effort to pre-empt it, they had a perfect argument. “We find on Taanis 19a that Rabi Yosi said that the sages didn’t declare a fast because a tragedy had already happened. Rather, they declared a fast because they were able to see that a potential tragedy was looming on the horizon. ‘They declared a fast because wolves had devoured two young children on the far side of the Yarden. Rabi Yosi said: They weren’t eaten, they were seen…’ If the Chachomim felt that just spotting the wolves is enough of a reason to declare a fast, surely our situation is no less threatening! And we pasken like Rabi Yosi!”

The Keys of the Mikdash

The Brisker Rav, zt”l, would often receive inquiries from askonim and others who sought leniencies on the pretext that circumstances made them necessary to ensure the Jewish people’s survival. He would answer that even if it appears as though compromising the Torah’s integrity could safeguard its ultimate “survival,” we are still not permitted to “play G-d” and make changes that are not sanctioned by the straightforward halachah.
To better explain his uncompromising stance, he would make use of a proof from the following Gemara in Ta’anis: “During the destruction of the first Beis HaMikdash, the young kohanim took the keys to the sanctuary, climbed up to the roof, and threw them up toward heaven. They said that since they were no longer able to serve as faithful trustees, Hashem should assume the responsibility for the Mikdash. Something that appeared to have the form of a hand descended and took the keys, and the kohanim leapt into the flames.”
The Brisker Rav continued, “This teaches us a powerful lesson. The Torah is not our personal business concern over which we have independent control. In our own enterprise, we have the authority to sell off a product for a song in order to ensure that we have a good turnover until we build up the business and can sell at a profit. But the Torah is not something that we own, something that we can decide to alter by sacrificing certain halachos, to ensure that it will ‘sell’ for the time being until the ‘market’ is better!”
He concluded, “If we cannot accomplish our aims in accordance with the halachah, we accept that our hands are tied and do not act. We are only gizborim, trustees. We are not owners of the Torah with the latitude to alter it and do with it as we wish!”

“The Precepts of Hashem… Gladden the Heart”

Chazal teach that it is forbidden to learn words of (most areas of) Torah on Tisha B’av because they make a person joyous and such a state is incompatible with the nature of the fast day. The proof for the Torah’s ability to lift one’s spirits is taken from the verse: “The precepts of Hashem are right; they gladden the heart.” (Tehillim 19:9)
Unfortunately, some people don’t really feel the joy of learning. The Ohev Yisroel, zt”l, writes that although learning Torah gladdens the heart, one who pushes himself to proceed faster than he can realistically manage is in too much of a rush to enjoy his learning. We must be upwardly mobile spiritually, but only one step at a time.
A number of chassidim once asked Rav Mendel of Vitebsk, zt”l: “Why do we find ourselves depressed by unholy thoughts? We are learning and praying to the best of our ability. Doesn’t the verse say that Hashem’s precepts gladden one’s heart?”
Rav Mendel responded, “It says in Pirkei Avos that a person is considered wealthy when he is happy with what he has. This also refers to one’s spiritual attainments. Even though the Tanna D’bei Eliyahu writes that we should always ask when our deeds will come to those of the Avos, this does not mean that we should be unhappy with what we have accomplished. It is just meant to goad us to always strive for more!”
He concluded, “One who truly wants to serve Hashem will be thankful for every little bit of learning that he has achieved while he continues to yearn for more. It is only this type of Torah study that can save a person from depression and negative thoughts. This is what the verse means when it says that the Torah’s precepts gladden one’s heart. As Chazal tell us, the Torah is like an elixir; if one is worthy, it is an elixir of life, but if not it is like poison. One must always be happy with what he learns, for ‘Torah study is equal to all the other mitzvos!”

The Words of a Tzaddik

Chazal tell us that a righteous person makes a decree and Hashem fulfills it (Moed Katan 16.)
Once, a very simple Jew who lived in Bnei Brak had a serious problem. A short time before Shabbos, his pipe burst and the only way to shut down the water in his own apartment was through closing the main, which would deprive many other families of water. It seemed that the only thing he could do would be to leave the water on throughout Shabbos, with all of the attendant loss of water, money, and the damage that it might entail. Since it was much too late to call a plumber before Shabbos, the man felt that he had no other choice but to leave the water running. Just before Shabbos, he was struck with another idea.
The man ran to the Chazon Ish, zt”l, and told him his trouble.
“But how can I help you?” asked the Gadol. “I’m not a plumber!”
“Please just say that the water will stop flowing in my house.”
Bemused, the Chazon Ish repeated this phrase and wished the man a good Shabbos.
Amazingly, the water remained off only in this man’s house throughout the entire Shabbos.
After Shabbos, this man went back to the Chazon Ish with a different problem.
He implored, “Rebbi, I need my water back on now that it is Motzei Shabbos and I have easily found a plumber to fix the trouble. Please turn it back on—I have no water in my house!”
Surprised, the Chazon Ish asked, “But how do you expect me to help you now?”
The man responded, “I would like you to say that my water should start to flow again!”
No less bemused than before, the Gadol did so and then wished the man Gut voch.
And the water started to run again through the repaired pipes!

Spirit of the Law: Chapter 122: 1 Chizuk and Beyn Hamitzarim

1 "From the 17th of Tamuz the tzaros of the churban started so the custom is to comport oneself a little like a mourner. It is fitting for anyone who fears heaven to say tikun chatzos after midday during this time…"
The Gemara writes:all who mourn the destruction of Yerushalayim will merit to see her nechama .The Maharal explains two reasons why one must first mournto see the nechamah.

the first thing to understand is that the world is in a very imperfect state primarily because it lacks its most basic component: the Beis Hamikdash.Mourning the Beis Hamikdash shows that we appreciate our loss and the reason for our loss.
The more we appreciate how much we lack on because of our lack of a Beis Hamikdash the more we mourn and show our relationship with the true metsios of the world. For the world is really supposed to be a world of completion for a world with a Beis Hamikdash reveals the deep spiritual connection between the Creator and His creations .
The second reason is because the rule is that only something lacking can come to a new level of completion. For example, a seed must decompose in order to grow into a tree. The contents of an egg must become putrid before a chick can be formed.
We can learn this from a number of chazal’s as well: The yearning for Chachma makes one a suitable vessel to receive chachama. A woman’s yearning for children makes her a suitable vessel to have children. Even in the antecedents of the world we find that first there was tohu, vohu and choshech and only then could there be a creation.
For this reason it is only one who feels that he is missing the Beis Hamikdash who will be able to access the spiritual levels of nechama, Hashem's comfort to us. Only one who truly knows his flaws has space to become more complete. One who feels complete cannot develop since “you can’t improve on perfection.” If he really doesn’t feel perfect why doesn't he yearn for completion? Failure to yearn shows that for one reason or another we relate to ourselves as if we were perfect . Intenllectual knowledge of our flaws is completely irrelvant just as one who "knows" that he needs to control his temper will continue to act the exact same way if his knowledge stays in his head and does not reach his heart.
Our identity is revealed in our attitude. Refusal to emotionally acknowledge our imperfections by ignoring them and failing to yearn to improve them, condemns us to bear our faults.To explain this with a simple metaphor:if someone who takes a daily dose of live saving medicine knows he has run out he can try and get another prescription and purchase more. One who has no idea that he is almost out believes he has enough and will take no steps to rectify his situation until he notices that his supply is dwindling. Surely we would never fix something we don’t believe is broken.
Often one doesn't yearn to improve his faults because he feels that his flaws and sins are so much a part of him that he will never change. This person also belives he is complete but in a different way. He feels that he is complete in the sense that he cannot possibly change so why yearn? If we really felt there was hope because Hashem can always improve us, we would yearn to access the levels of the holiness of the Beis Hamikdash continuously with our whole heart.
In Brochos 32 we find that for although we no longer have the holy temple, regarding one who has true understanding the Beis Hamikdash is considered to have been rebuilt.If we yearn and plead with Hashem to improve our faults we will surely attain the level of completion Hashem wants for us. The first step of all spiritual ascent is an absolute belief that all failures can be turned around. All one needs to do is yearn to improve with his entire being whenever he can. One must also "tough it out" by patiently doing whatever good possible while waiting for Hashem's salvation.
Rav Nosson of Breslov zt”l, wrote in a letter, “...Regarding the all important issue: your very bitter cry of pain (of your present spiritual state) as a result of your of sins and the thoughts that the Yetzer Hara attacks you with,the main tactic of the yester Hara, (since all illicit actions are the fruit of negative or unproductive thoughts which determine our attitudes and spiritual\ emotional state as well as how we will react.Bad thoughts are the prelude to all spiritual falls.) I have heard your cries and know your pain from before and now (so much that) my heart goes out to you since I feel every bit of your pain as if it was my own…but the very fact that you are crying out with such bitterness, literally until the heavens because of this, comforts and encourages me!
My son; you must know and believe that Hashem hears every single cry and will surely deliver you in the merit of following the advice of the true tsadikim. That the deliverance is taking so long is on account of a hidden reason. But it is certain that failing to strengthen ourselves to overcome such bad thoughts is partially why your deliverance tarries.)
Another reason this [often] takes so long is because Hashem loves to hear the tefilos of Yisrael, even the prayers of the lowest of the low! But even so; not even a single cry is lost so regardless of results, you must continue to cry out with all your might!
… Know my son:there were people much worse off than you that I knew who were healed. Through the words I received from the Rebbi, they were completely rectified and their lot is the portion of those who merit eternal life… !
In another letter Rav Nosson signs off by saying, “May Hashem help us to weep and mourn the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash which principally means that we should mourn because of our sins that prevent the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash until we merit to change our agony and sighing into the happiness and joy of trust in Hashem’s kindness and great deliverance until everything turns into good!
The words of your father, who is waiting for deliverance and praying for you,
Nosson of Breslov .
This sentiment was echoed by Rav Wolbe, zt”l, when he said, “I will give you a big sum of money if you can find even one bochur who believes that it is possible to come to the level whereby one can go an entire year without sins. I am not talking about trying to accept upon ourselves to go a year without sin. Quite the contrary! Kabalos have to be exclusively small. But we must at least believe that this is possible (after much introspection and toil.) I am not even talking about coming to gadlus which is a much greater level. I am talking about entering into our heads and hearts the genuine belief that it is possible to rid ourselves of all sin! This emunah is a prerequisite of true [teshuvah which consists of] charata of the past and acceptance for the future !”

Spirit of the Law: Tisha B'Av

124: 3:“…One doesn’t say Tachanun or Kel Erech Apayim on Tisha B’Av because it is a Moed. “
Rav Yerucham Levovitz, zt”l, explained this very succinctly: “There are moadim of closeness like the shalosh regalim, and there is also a moed of distance, which is Tisha B’Av!”
Rav Wolbe, zt”l, explained further. “In the Medrash Yalkut Yirmiyahu #2 we find: HaKadosh Boruch Hu said, Why was Yerushalayim destroyed? Because you, the Jewish people, said ‘I have not sinned.’ When a person sins and denies his deed, he is living a lie. Since Hashem is a G-d of truth, it is as if the person’s connection to Hashem is cut off with regard to that sin. The more one lives a lie, the greater the area where one lives without a real connection to Hashem. One has no chance of repairing the damage through repentance, since a person who denies what he has done won’t admit that he has done wrong! On the other hand, when a person faces up to the distance that exists between him and Hashem because of his sin, he is living in the truth. Paradoxically, his admission of distance is what connects him to Hashem. This is the distance that is also a moed, a meeting. In this way, a person can repair the damage done and draw closer to his Creator. When we see our many flaws, this is a great reason to be encouraged since we can correct them by taking the proper action.”
We learn this lesson from Kesuvos 13 as well. Chazal bring the verse from Mishlei 30:20: “She eats and wiped her mouth and says, ‘I have not sinned.’” The sin is magnified many times by rationalizing instead of seeing the problem and working toward a solution. Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, zt”l, used to say, “Teshuvah means taking the next step forward to Hashem!”

Silence is Golden

When the Imrei Emes of Ger, zt”l, returned from his first voyage to Eretz Yisroel, the Rav of Kalish, zt”l, tried to elicit some details about his journey. The Imrei Emes, however, did not seem to be willing to engage in conversation.
“Nu?” prodded the Kalisher Rav. “How does the Rebbe feel after his visit to the Holy Land? Don’t Chazal say that even the air of Eretz Yisroel makes one wise?”
The Imrei Emes nodded. “Yes, it’s true,” he answered. “And Chazal also said: the protective fence for wisdom…is silence!”
This can also mean that silence is sometimes the best defense, because with it, one can avoid an argument altogether.
A delegation of Sefardic rabbis once came to visit the Mahari”l Diskin, zt”l, the illustrious Rav of Brisk.
As soon as they arrived, the group of sages began to weave a number of intricate arguments about certain Torah subjects, while the Mahari”l simply sat quietly and did not participate.
Eventually they tired of this, and decided to take their leave. As they left, the members of the delegation shook their heads in dismay and lamented to one another, “What a pity—to see such a great scholar who has gotten old and forgotten his learning!”
What the group didn’t realize was that the gaon of Brisk was just as much a master of silence as he was a master of Torah!

The Kallah and the Mother in Law

Once there was a young man who spent much time and energy every day taking care of his elderly mother. He did not hide this fact from the shadchanim with which he came into contract. On the contrary, he told them up front that he planned to continue taking care of his mother after marriage as well and wished to find a wife willing to assume this burden.
Understandably, this cut into his prospects. Although he was a very eligible young man in other respects with sterling middos, virtually no girl was willing to saddle herself with a young man with such harsh obligations from the outset of marriage. Why should she take on such an unbearable burden?
The shadchanim were afraid that this young man would remain single his entire life. Clearly, the mother should be placed in one of any number of frum old age homes where she would not be a burden to a new couple just starting out on life.
One shadchan broached this issue with the young man and advised him to ask this question of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l. The shadchan. who had hoped that the great posek would tell this young man to drop his foolish insistence and be realistic about shiduchim, found Rav Shlomo Zalman’s response to the bochur very surprising. “You are absolutely correct to search for a ba’alas chesed in precisely this manner. If a young lady is unwilling to take care of your mother, she is clearly not for you.”
After a time the young man finally found a ba’alas midos willing to take on this incredible self-sacrifice. She was willing to live in a small apartment with her husband and her new mother-in-law and help care for the elderly woman.
When the young man came to tell Rav Shlomo Zalman the news, he was completely floored by what he heard, “Mazel Tov! Now you know you are getting a true ba’alas chesed. But you must immediately start searching for a good home for your unfortunate mother. Actually placing such a burden on your young bride-to-be is unfair and is simply not an option!”

The Genuine Zealot

Chazal tell us that the Jewish people challenged Pincha’s right to kill a prince of Israel on account of religious zealotry. Although in that case they were wrong, it is no simple thing to be a zealot l’shem shomayim. One of the cardinal rules of genuine zealotry is that the “kana’i” must be filled with real love of Hashem and concern for his fellow Jews. Otherwise, he is likely to merely be spewing hatred for his fellow man under the guise of piety. Although Rav Amram Blau, zt”l, was the leader of the “kano’im” of Yerushalayim, his ahavas Hashem and ahavas Yisroel was palpable even as he led protests. When he died, the very policemen who had opposed him so forcefully tearfully attended his funeral. When they were asked why they had come to their “archenemy’s” funeral they replied that they had all felt that he was pained by what he saw as the necessity of protesting and knew with absolute certainty that he loved every Jew. His protestations had been nothing personal; one never felt any spite or hatred emanating from him.
One of the great students of the Maharil Diskin, zt”l, was also a very dedicated zealot. Throughout his mentor’s lifetime, he would always attend protests against various offenses and was a very formidable force within the ranks of the “kano’im.” He was clearly willing to die for the cause and the policemen who didn’t wish to actually kill the zealots didn’t have a permanent solution for this particular man. However much they beat him, he was back with new vitality at the next protest—once again clearly willing to die for the cause.
Shortly after the Maharil Diskin’s passing a protest was arranged. Although this man had definitely been present when the protest was announced, he did not attend. After the protest he was approached by the organizers who exclaimed, “Where were you? Your presence was sorely missed!”
“I will no longer be attending protests,” replied the student to the shocked group.
“But why?” they asked, clearly mystified.
“Until now, my rebbi the Maharil Diskin told me to attend, so I was sure that I was l’shem shomayim. After all, I was merely obeying my rebbi. But now that he is gone I can never attend…”
The man concluded, “Who is to say that my attendance is not merely a guise to vent my anger and hatred?”

The Service of the Heart

Someone once asked Rav Noach of Lechovitz, zt”l, “Isn’t prayer what we do when we praise the King for all the great things that He does, or ask Him to fulfill our needs? Why does the Gemara call it a service, an avodah, of the heart?”
Rav Noach responded, “The heart is like a field. It is only after a field has been well worked that one can plant in it and look forward to a good harvest. Before a field is worked, it is not worthy of being called a field. It is merely a desolate plot of land. The heart is the same. Prayer works our hearts out thoroughly and gives us the ability to connect to Hashem and feel the way a Jew should!”
The Chasam Sofer, zt”l, answered differently. “The reason why prayer is called an avodah is because we really don’t have the ability to do anything to serve Hashem of our own accord. The most we can do is yearn to serve Him and beg to be worthy of doing so until we reach the level of truly loving Hashem. We see this from the words of the book of Tehillim, especially chapter 119. Since the only way we come to serve Hashem is through pleading with Him to be found worthy of doing so, prayer is called service. This is also why the Gemara in Taanis 2a teaches that we come to love Hashem with our whole hearts through prayer. We can do nothing else but continuously daven to Hashem until He has mercy and brings us a little closer to Him!”

The Secrets of the Torah

In various places the Gemara concludes that certain details are a “guzmah” which literally means exaggerated. The Pnei Zakein zt”l warns us away from a misunderstanding; chalilah that one should think that the Sages, who never wasted a single word, would indulge in simple exaggeration. The truth is that guzmah also means to cut. When the Gemara wants to hint at a very deep secret and still keep the matter hidden, the Sages used the language of guzmah—words that slice their meaning in two without revealing the secret.
The Chofetz Chayim zt”l, in his explanation of a Medrash, wrote that every word, every single letter, of Torah actually contains the deepest mysteries inside it that will only be revealed by Hashem in the world to come. One who learns the Torah in this world will be able to understand the true meaning of the Torah in the next world, and whoever did not exert himself to learn in this world will not understand the secrets contained within that Torah in the next world.
Rav Yitzchok Aizik of Komarna zt”l, the “Pnei Zakain” on Shekalim, once related: “My father tasted the world to come in the Torah. He was so connected to the Torah that he would often spend several days immersed in his learning without eating anything. Even so, he never appeared to suffer from hunger. The Torah sustained him so much that his very face shined!”
“One time, I remember my mother telling my cousin that she worried for his health since he hadn’t eaten for five days. My cousin went to see after him, but my father insisted all was well.
“My precious child,” he said, “believe me when I say that I absolutely do not feel hunger. If I felt any hunger I would eat, because hunger causes bitul Torah and weakness.” He was so bound up to the deeper level of Torah that he did not even feel that he had not eaten for days!

A Share in the World to Come

Chazal state that one who learns halachos every day is assured of his share in the world to come. Why should one be assured of such a great reward for doing what seems to be a very simple thing?
The students of Rav Chaim Vital, zt”l, once asked their mentor, “When the Mishnah (Shabbos, end of perek 5) discusses the cow belonging to the neighbor of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya that went out with a strap between its eyes on Shabbos in violation of the will of the sages, the animal is attributed to Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya and not its actual owner. Why was it considered his? Because he could have protested the man’s actions and didn’t. The Yerushalmi brings that this only happened once, yet the Tanna fasted so long as part of his penitence that his teeth became blackened! If this is how one should repent of such a subtle flaw, how can we ever attain true repentance and sanctity? How can we ever fast enough to negate all of our many errors?”
Rav Chaim Vital answered, “The degree of difficulty of something teaches us about its worth. In the times of the Mishnah, the world was much closer to Sinai and there was much less spiritual darkness. Anyone who wanted to come close to Hashem therefore had to work all the harder. Nowadays, because of the abundant darkness of exile, even just crying out from the depths of one’s heart is as precious to Hashem as the fasts of earlier times!”
When the Yismach Yisroel of Alexander, zt”l, told this story, he applied it to learning halacha: “As we know, Hashem is not a tyrant; He doesn’t demand that which we cannot produce. (Avodah Zarah 3) Today is much darker spiritually compared with what it was during the time of Rav Chaim Vital. This is why one who learns halachos every day is assured of his share in the world to come. This could be referring to learning when one finds it very difficult to do so, as it is in our time!”

Earning Your Portion of the Wolrld to Come

It is well known that it is virtually impossible to achieve significant material comfort without real hard work even nowadays. During the time of the Ba’al Hafla’ah, zt”l, however, just making a simple living could consume all of a person’s time and energy. Jews often worked in petty trade, and people would exert themselves for days on end riding through rain and snow to purchase merchandise in one place just so they could cart it somewhere else where they hoped to make a profit. Sometimes the merchandise would be stolen or destroyed, or would lose whatever value it had even before it got to market. Such a misfortune could bring on swift ruin.
Once, a traveling merchant who had been riding the whole night and was in dire need of refreshment found himself at the doorstep of the famous Ba’al Hafla’ah. The man was literally freezing and was desperately in need of shelter from the blizzard that raged outside. He was graciously admitted to the house, and after some hot tea and cake warmed him up a bit, he posed a question to the gadol.
“The Rav can see for himself what my olam ha’zeh is like,” he began. “My question is, what will my olam ha’bah look like?”
The Ba’al Hafla’ah gently answered, “My son, this is what your olam ha’zeh looks like after putting in so much effort. What makes you think that you’ll merit a big portion in the next world without any toil at all?”

The World to Come

Someone once asked the Chofetz Chaim zt”l, “If every Jew has a portion in the world to come, why do we have to work so hard to keep all the details of the Torah?”
The Chofetz Chaim answered, “In Kiev lives a wealthy Jew named Brodsky who owns many businesses employing hundreds of different types of workers with different sets of skills and levels of expertise. And each is paid accordingly. Brodsky is a charitable man and also supports a number of poor relations, all of whom appear on the payroll. At times, Brodsky visits one of his factories or offices and speaks with his workers in front of the others, asking detailed questions about what they do and how much they are paid.
“Once, a worker answered his questions with a simple statement: ‘I receive a salary.’ All the others burst out laughing. How could the man not even feel enough shame to hide the fact that he was being paid for doing nothing at all?
“This is your answer: We all have a portion in the world to come, but isn’t it shameful not to have worked for it?”

The Key to Humility

Many people would come to the Imrei Menachem of Alexander, zt”l, seeking his guidance on how to achieve humility. He would say, “In Chovos HaLevavos we find a very deep story which I hold is the key to attaining humility. Rabbeinu Bachaya relates that a pious man once met a group of warriors on their way home from their exploits. They had won the war, and were laden with the spoils. He said to them, ‘You have returned from the small war. Now you will have to wage the real battle: the struggle against your evil inclination!’”
The Rebbe would then explain, “The Chovos HaLevavos is not referring to a pious man meeting actual soldiers returning from a physical war. Such people are hardly the types who care much for the milchemes hayetzer, the inner battle with their lower selves. This pious man had met with sincere servants of Hashem who had already defeated their evil inclinations by ascending new levels of Torah and avodah. Our pious man explained to them that they had really only just begun. True, they had obtained a measure of success and had even ‘taken spoils,’ but the real fight against the ego that gets inflated from accomplishments still awaited them. The most important battle is against pride, since it is only the prideful person who feels secure in sitting on his laurels and no longer moving forward. The more enamored we are of our achievements, the less we feel how far we still have to go and how much more we have yet to achieve!”

Who is Amalek?

In Jerusalem, everyone had been awaiting the arrival of His Royal Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and when he and his vast entourage finally came everyone went out to see the mighty ruler. The holy residents of Jerusalem were not mere curiosity-seekers—they were avidly awaiting the opportunity to recite the blessing over a non-Jewish king. People prepared themselves by studying the relevant halachos from the source in the gemara, and when the time came, everyone turned out for the extravagant reception in honor of the visiting monarch.
Those who were close to Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, noticed that he was not preparing himself to join in the gala event. This was strange, especially since the Rav was always the first to join in any mitzvah. And how much more confusing it was in this case, when the opportunity to fulfill this particular mitzvah might never present itself again. When those close to him questioned his unusual behavior—unusual in the sense of being too usual—the Rav answered, “You are correct. I am not planning to attend the reception at all.”
When asked why, he explained, “I have received a tradition from my teachers that some Germans are descendants of Amalek. There is no mitvah to make a blessing on a king from the line of Amalek!”
Those present did not comprehend how such a thing could be so, since the Germans were universally considered the most civilized and cultured people in all of Europe. After the Holocaust they understood all too well the truth of Rav Yosef Chaim’s prescient words!

“My Name is Chagigah…”

Once, a pious man had the practice of sequestering himself in a certain place to study Maseches Chagigah, and it was his way to review it over and over again. After he knew it well, he committed it to memory. Although the man was not learned in any other tractate, he spent all his days in the study of Chagigah until he had fully mastered it.
When the man passed away he was all alone in his home and no one knew of his demise. A strange woman soon arrived on the scene and stood over his body in a posture of grief. She raised her voice in a lament until all the townspeople gathered together to investigate her loud and mournful cries.
She called out to the people of the town, “Come, let us eulogize this man and bury him and honor his memory. Let us merit the life of the world to come! For this man honored me all his life long, and saved me from being abandoned and forgotten.”
Immediately, all of the women came to sit with her, and the town gathered and mourned him with great honor. The men provided shrouds and arranged his burial, and they honored him greatly at the funeral.
All the while, the mysterious woman cried and wailed and could not be consoled.
Finally, the people of the town asked her, “Who are you?”
She said to them, “Who am I? My name is Chagigah.”
As soon as the pious man was buried, the woman disappeared. All of the townspeople knew that they had been visited by Maseches Chagigah in the form of a woman, come to them to ensure the honorable burial of her devoted student. (Medrash Tanchumah HaYoshon, as brought in Menoras HaMaor, Ner 3, VIII:3:5)
The Chofetz Chayim, zt”l, would say: “Anyone who does a single mitzvah acquires a heavenly advocate. How much more is this so when a person studies a maseches so many times until he masters it and commits it to memory! Imagine to what extent it petitions on his behalf in the upper world to save him from Gehinnom and from all of the evil forces that pursue one’s soul. Imagine to what extent it uplifts him to attain all good, and to be bound eternally together with Hashem!”

The Danger of Duality

Rav Yitzchak Aizik Chaver zt”l taught that our tradition of avoiding eating, drinking, and other activities in zugos, or pairs, is a very deep matter. One unit represents Hashem’s absolute Unity; two is dangerous, because it introduces the concepts of duality, division, and conflict. Going from one to two is compared to the descent from Hashem’s Unity before creation to the “Other-ness” of a seemingly independent creation. Adding a third element is a way to restore the initial unity—much in the way that the midline of the body is the point of balance and integration that joins together two apparently independent sides. The odd unit is the way that we are brought back symbolically to the One.
The Ben Ish Chai zt”l illustrated this esoteric idea with a story. A man was hiking in the wilds on his own, when suddenly a fearsome lion crossed his path. It stared at him balefully, clearly sizing him up as prey. Fear-struck, the man’s mind raced during the few split seconds he had left, as he scurried to think of some way out of this deadly predicament. Just as the beast crouched to pounce, he came up with a desperate plan.
“Bang!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, sighting down his upraised walking stick. In mid-leap, the lion fell down, dead! Half-dead from shock himself, the man could barely believe it. “Could it be that my walking stick has such power?!”
Just then, a hunter came upon the man. Euphorically, the hiker exclaimed, “My stick is just as powerful as your gun! Look what it did to this lion over here!”
“You fool!” the hunter could barely restrain his laughter. “Did you really think that screaming ‘bang!’ brought him down? I saw he was about to devour you, and I held him in my sights and shot him with my own rifle!”
How foolish do we seem when we fail to the see the One pulling the strings behind the scene!

Teshuvah for Theft

Chazal teach that sins between a man and his friend are judged more stringently than those between man and Hashem; Yechezkel HaNavi even caps his litany of the twenty-four sins that brought about the churban with theft, as if to say that it is the ultimate act of trespass. (Yechezkel 22:13) The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, extrapolates from this that even if one is exemplary in all of his dealings with Hashem and his fellow man, theft renders him invalid. He is distant from Hashem until he makes restitution and changes his ways.
When the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, was making his arrangements for his anticipated move to Eretz Yisrael toward the end of his life, he bequeathed his personal well to the public of Radin.
When asked why he did this, the gadol explained, “For years we had a grocery store here in Radin. Chazal write in Kiddushin that being a grocer is an occupation for thieves since it is all to easy to inadvertently (or intentionally, ח"ו) err in weighing out goods or making change for purchases. But how can one compensate the public when one doesn’t even know what mistakes were made or who lost by them?”
He continued, “Chazal taught that one who has stolen from the public should make a public restitution. That is why I am leaving my well to be used by all the inhabitants of Radin.”
Later on, all the wells in Radin froze over during a particularly hard frost—all except for the one that had belonged to the Chofetz Chaim. When asked about this unusual occurrence, the gadol was clearly pleased. “Wonderful! Now all those I stole from will certainly come and get restitution from my well!”

New and Improved

Rav Hirsch zt”l, writes that just as each day brings its own refreshing renewal, every years does as well. This is actually based on the words of the Arizal who explains the difference between each day’s renewals as opposed to each year’s. Each year we acquire an entirely new facet of the Torah. While each day we are building on what came before, each year must be completely different. This is the inner meaning of Chazal’s statement that the Torah has “seventy faces”—the average number of years in a person’s life. During each year, a new aspect of the Torah is revealed within the collective soul of the Jewish people—and last year’s Torah cannot be rolled over into a new year!
A talmid once asked Rav Shach zt”l, “Why do you work so hard preparing your lectures? It’s all written down in your work Avi Ezri. Why not just review it before the shiur?”
The Rosh Yeshivah explained, “You should know that it is impossible to learn Torah and really transmit it to one’s students through seforim alone. The student must hear Torah from a Rav who is living that which he teaches so it can enter into his heart. If I were to teach my shiurim straight from Avi Ezri, I would merely be mouthing that which has already been written, without having to add any new effort. How can I possibly give over the Torah if my students won’t feel how I toiled to gain a proper understanding? If I were just going to read from a book, surely it would be better to quote from the K’tzos or Rabbi Akiva Eiger zt”l, instead of my shiur! If you want to understand the true meaning of mesoras haTorah, it is that ‘words that come forth from the heart can enter into the heart of another.’”

Making Time

One time, the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, sent a message to one of the older bochurim in the yeshiva in Radin with a special request. The gadol asked that this very accomplished scholar devote some time to learning with a younger student who needed help to advance in his studies.
When the messenger arrived, the older bochur refused the request explaining, “I’m deeply immersed in maseches Zevachim right now and there is no way that this younger bochur will be able to keep up with the demanding pace I need to maintain.” He apologized profusely for refusing, but didn’t feel that he could really be expected to sacrifice his deep iyun for the sake of another student. He continued learning and forgot about the whole matter.
Some time later, this prominent student came to the Chofetz Chaim to ask a difficult question that had cropped up during his learning. He began to relate a complicated calculation of Tosafos in the sugya he was studying and then said that this seems to nullify a certain pilpul that is needed to answer yet another difficult question. He posed, “How would Tosafos answer this problem?”
After hearing him out, the Chofetz Chaim just looked at the student in a marked manner. Finally, he said, “Aren’t you the one who couldn’t make a little time for a younger student of the yeshiva? I wonder why you think that your problem in Tosafos has anything to do with me?”

Brevity—the Soul of Wisdom

Once, Rav Yechezkel Abramsky, zt”l, learned that a convention of prominent Jewish academics was set to be held in London and decided that he, too, would like to attend. When he arrived, he requested permission to speak in front of the group of respected personages. His request was granted. On the dais, Rav Abramsky spoke with great feeling regarding the paramount importance of strengthening Torah, and quoted liberally from the Shulchan Aruch to prove his point.
One of the most prestigious academics raised a very simple but controversial objection. “But Rabbi, all genuine scholars know that the Shulchan Aruch is outdated. So what you are saying is meaningless.”
At this outburst of audacity, a number of participants followed suit and voiced their objections to the Rav . Each person voiced his “proofs” and it appeared as though, instead of a Kiddush Hashem, the opposite would be the result of the Rav’s speech.
To everyone’s surprise, their objections didn’t faze Rav Abramsky in the slightest. Instead, he made a simple request. “Please have a pen and paper ready.”
Everyone wondered what this was all about. The Rav didn’t leave them in suspense for long. “You are all basing your views on your superior understanding, so you surely won’t object to a little test of your acumen. I am going to tell you a true story. Please summarize it in the most concise fashion that you can.” He started to relate a very complicated case replete with numerous details. When he finally finished, it was clear that even the best summary was rather long.
Then the Rav opened a book and read the most concise and clearly superior summary to the incredulous professors. Rav Abramsky then turned to the professor who had been first to object. “The advantage of brevity is known to all. See how this work managed to include every single detail and complexity without wasting a single word. How long your summaries were compared with that of the Shulchan Aruch in Choshen Mishpat—the ‘outdated’ work whose wisdom clearly exceeds your own!”

“Do Not Be Like Korach…”

Since this week is Parshas Korach from which we learn the prohibition of machlokes, I wish to share one of many favorite stories:
Rav Chaim Meir, the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, zt”l, was known to be very sharp-witted; a trait common to those who had received semichah from the famous Maharsham, zt”l. There are countless stories of his penetrating insight and understanding from when he was the young Rav of the town Velchovitz, in the district of Maramures, Hungary.
By that time, the controversy between Misnagdim and Chassidim that had raged since the cherem of the Gra, zt”l, had already been in abeyance for well over fifty years due to the joint efforts of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, zt”l, and the Mittler Rebbe of Lubavitch, zt”l. It was thus with considerable consternation that most viewed the reprinting of old inflammatory “seforim” whose whole purpose had been to fan the sparks of the machlokes into a raging fire. At a time when all faithful Jews had to strengthen themselves against many foes from with in and without, such books could be a distraction that could cost spiritual lives!
The Imrei Chaim complained about those printers who had decided to print such works. He said, “The printers who publish these kinds of books can even be responsible for causing someone to violate the holy Shabbos! As everyone knows, the custom here is that kosher Jewish women place a holy sefer on the table with the Shabobs candles so that the table will serve as a base for that which is permitted (the book) in addition to serving as a base for that which is forbidden (the lit candles). Unfortunately, if the women will use one of these books that chiefly discusses various false claims about a defunct controversy as a means of ensuring that the table is not a bosis l’davar assur, her table will be a base to two forbidden objects: one that is forbidden only on Shabbos, and the other forbidden even during the week!”
In his customary sharp way, the Rebbe concluded, “Actually, this is a clear Gemara in Yevamos 60b. There we find that a ‘sign of sin is hadroken, the change in countenance that indicates a certain sinful change in personal status. The word hadroken can be read a different way, though. In Yiddish, ha-drukin means the printing press. So we see here that sometimes the printing press is the agent of sin—like when such destructive books are printed!”
Hashem should save us from needless machlokes!

The Nature of Sin

Rav Huna made a fairly well known statement. One who did a sin and “shanah bah,” repeated it, the sin has unfortunately become “k’heter,” something that no longer smacks of sin to the sinner himself.
Someone once asked Rav Baruch of Mezhibuzh, zt”l, about this, “Since one can always repent, what does he mean by ‘the sin is permitted to him?’ Surely the person will still repent for the sin on Yom Kippur since he does really know that it is a sin?”
The Rebbe explained, “On a simple level it means that it is harder to do teshuvah for a sin once it has become habitual than for a ‘fresh’ one. But there is also a deeper lesson in Rav Huna’s statement. ‘V’shanah’ also means, ‘and learns.’ When viewed this way, the Gemara is really saying that one who sins and learns afterward is ‘hutra,’ or released from his guilt! With this, we can more readily understand Chazal’s statement that if one sees a Torah scholar sinning at night one should not suspect him the next day since he has surely repented by then. How do we know that he will have already repented? From the fact that he is a Torah scholar—he will have learned, and his learning will bring him to repentance!”
The Satmar Rav, zt”l, had an entirely different view of Rav Huna’s words, however. He would say, “There are some people whose lack of yiras shomayim drives them to try and ‘purify a sheretz’—to illegitimately rationalize improper behavior. Such people think that they are accomplished scholars, and they are willing to concoct a ‘halachic’ way permit almost any wrong. Rav Huna means that if one did a sin and knows how to learn (v’shanah), he will find a way to justify his misdeed. Then he can say in all innocence, ‘hutra’—it’s permitted. His ability to learn is what keeps him sinning!”

The Belzer Rebbe’s Garden

Rav Aharon of Belz, zt”l, had decided to settle in Tel Aviv. It was always his practice to spend a great deal of time immersed in his spiritual preparation for davening. In general, that involved learning a large amount in an enthusiastic voice, and he generally stood the entire time. One of his daily sedarim was to learn Maseches Berochos from cover to cover! He never wasted time on mundane matters since he was always busy either learning, davening, or helping people by offering his blessing or advice. For this reason, it came as a big surprise to his followers when shortly after settling in, the Rebbe asked his assistants to arrange for the planting of a garden near his home for his private use. He specified that the garden should contain trees, vegetables, and flowers. This seemed very uncharacteristic of a tzaddik who was so particular about not wasting a single moment or glance. Those assistance well remembered the Rebbe’s response to a doctor who asked that he gaze at the sky to enable him to examine the Rebbe’s eyes. “My whole life I have never looked out of my dalet amos, and I don’t plan on changing for the worse at this late date! I am afraid that you will have to forgo this.”
So what could such a kadosh want with a garden?
But since the Rebbe had made his request, the gabbaim made sure that a splendorous garden was planted, replete with fruit trees and flowers as ordered.
After several years, the garden grew lushly with every possible source of delight. The Rebbe announced, “This year is shemittah. It is time to publicly declare its fruits hefker.” He took the time to carefully explain to the workers who tended the garden that since this year is shemittah, it is forbidden for them to work there.
The Rebbe’s actions had the effect that he had hoped for when he first came to Tel Aviv: a wonderful kiddush Hashem was made, and many who had never meant to do so were encouraged to observe the halachos of shemittah!

Strong Words

Generally speaking, the sages were very careful not to speak in a sharp way even if they disagreed with their colleagues. When the Pri Chadash was first printed and reached the Jewish community in Egypt, the Chachamim there were amazed at the insight in the sefer. Despite their high regard for its scholarship, they placed a ban on it and didn’t allow anyone in their community to purchase it. What turned them against the sefer? The fact that when the Pri Chadash argued on the Beis Yosef, he adopted a patronizing tone!
When the Torah Temimah related this, he said, “One would think that the printers would have placed the Pri Chadash on the page in full like they did the Ketsos and Nesivos in Choshen Mishpat. I think the fact that it is only either found in an abbreviated form on the page or relegated to the back of the Shulchan Aruch is because that ban made an impact in heaven!”
However, Yevamos 9 is an example of the exception that proves the rule; when there was a valid reason, the sages could also be known to speak with great acerbity. Someone once asked the Chavas Yair, zt”l, “Why do we find in Yevamos 9a that Rebbi says that Rav Levi has no brain in his skull? Isn’t that a little harsh when all Levi did was ask why there are fifteen women who discharge their tzaros from yibum, and not sixteen?”
The Gadol responded, “This is where the Rambam learned that a Rav must show anger with his disciple if he feels that the student’s failure to understanding is due to a lack of diligence and care in his learning. Since Rebbi felt that his student was careless, showing anger was a means to goad him to be more diligent in the future.”
There could be other reasons for the occasional harsh word. For example, the Chasam Sofer, zt”l, also once blasted someone named Aharon Choriner publicly. This Aharon Choriner was a “progressive Rabbi” who had an agenda to weaken traditional observance in Hungary.
The Chasam Sofer pointed out, “I noticed that in the many petitions this man has submitted to the government, he signs his name: ‘Aharon Choriner, Rabbi.’ See for yourselves—the name and title bears the initials ‘Acher!’”

The Effects of Shatnez

When the Mirrer Yeshiva was temporarily sheltered in Shanghai during World War II, the entire yeshiva felt a powerful stirring to learn Torah and Mussar and pray with special intensity. Although they had been fortunate enough to escape the Germans, they knew that living under the Japanese was no guarantee of safety since the Japanese were allied with Nazi Germany and could turn against the Jews any day. Furthermore, there was no protection against the Allied air raids of Shanghai. The only protection was clearly to be secured from their Father in heaven, through heartfelt prayer, introspection, and diligent learning.
On Yom Kippur, the intensity of the tefillos was hard to imagine. Oddly enough, in the middle of the davening, a certain very prominent student left the beis medrash for a short time and then returned in his weekday outfit. He resumed his tefillah and remained in his place until the end of the long day.
After Yom Kippur, another bochur asked the one who had left why he had done such a strange thing.
The first bochur explained, “When I was davening, I felt that my tefillos were just not flowing with even the kind of intensity that I have gotten used to during an ordinary weekday. I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong, and so I tried to learn a little mussar. Although this usually is very helpful, this time it did nothing for me. I suddenly realized that my new Shabbos suit might be the culprit. I saw in the Tzionei on Chumash that wearing shatnez prevents ones prayers from ascending. I quickly went to change into my weekday clothes, and as soon as I returned I could tell that my suspicions were right because all the barriers just melted away.”
“But didn’t you check your new clothes for shatnez?” the other bochur asked.
“I did, but my feeling on Yom Kippur made me certain that the one who had checked had missed something.”
The following day, the suit was thoroughly re-examined, and sure enough there were parts that had been processed with linen in a way that was very difficult to detect. The suit was simply riddled with shatnez!

Is There Ruach Hakodesh Nowadays?

Rav Baruch Ber Lebovits, zt”l, once asked his Rebbi, Rav Chaim Soleveitchik, zt”l, if the Chofetz Chaim actually possessed Ruach HaKodesh or not. The gadol responded by citing Yoma 9b, “Chazal said that since the death of Chagai, Zacharya, and Malachi, Ruach HaKodesh has departed from the Jewish people. On the other hand, they also tell us in Eruvin 64b that Rebbi Yishmael received insight via Ruach HaKodesh. The Rambam, zt”l, lists twelve levels of Ruach HaKodesh, so it is difficult to discern what exactly departed from the Jewish people and what elements remained.” He then continued with the following illustrative anecdote:
In Padua a long time ago, two wealthy business partners lost a great deal of their merchandise and property when a blaze broke out in their place of business. Among the things missing and presumed destroyed was the ledger that recorded exactly who owned what. They went to the Rama of Padua, zt”l, for arbitration since they were at a loss as to how the remaining property ought to be divided.
The Rav said, “Provide me with a list of everything that is left and come back tomorrow morning.”
When they returned the following day, the Rav provided them with a list of the remaining property divided to the last penny that was clearly unequal in its distribution. Although this seemed quite strange, the two followed the Rav’s advice and divided it up as he had ordered.
Several days later, the original ledger was found singed, but intact, among the debris. To everyone’s amazement, it proved that the Rav had divided up the estate exactly in accordance with the record!”
Rav Soleveitchik concluded, “For this, one needs Ruach HaKodesh!”

True Integrity

The Shelah Hakadosh zt”l writes that a gabbai tzedakah should not assume that, since he is known to be trustworthy, he need not keep a clear record of who gave what and where it went. The medrash recounts that even Moshe Rabbeinu was under suspicion by some until he gave a full account of all the money he had received and what it was used for. How much more true of us is the need keep clear records and share them with the people, as the verse says: “You should be blameless in the eyes of the Jewish people.” Ensuring that people are happy with us is part of our obligation to love our fellow Jews, but the Pele Yoetz points out that scholars often neglect this point. They believe that if they are truly blameless, they don’t have to worry about others wrongly suspecting them of questionable behavior. But the truth is that one who doesn’t act to assuage the suspicions of others is putting a “stumbling block before the blind!”
When the Beis Halevi zt’l was the Rav in the town of Slutsk, the Russians instituted a new currency, and prohibited the use of the old. Knowing full well that the Rav was steeped in learning all the time, the shamash decided to take advantage of the situation. He would pocket the Rav’s salary paid in new currency, and exchange it for an equal amount of the old. Upon receipt of the money, the Rav thanked him as usual, and the unscrupulous shamash figured that the Rav suspected nothing. In actuality, the Brisker Rav did know—he merely kept silent to spare the man embarrassment. For weeks, not only did the Brisker Rav refrain from using the illegal currency, he was also careful to ensure that no one else would either. Until the shamash thought better of his actions and changed to the new bills, the Rav took the time to bury them every payday!

“In Holiness, There Are No Questions…”

Once a certain person had a single cow with which he made his living. A very great mitzvah was presented to him that demanded an investment of money and he wasn’t sure what to do. Perhaps he should he sell his precious cow to fulfill the mitzvah? On the other hand, how could he sell his only source of livelihood?

The poor man brought this dilemma before the famous Rav Elimelech of Lizensk, zt”l. After hearing the question, Rav Elimelech immediately proclaimed, “You should not sell your cow.”

The man protested, “But Rebbe, the same mitvah once came your way and you sold your cow. Why am I different?”

Rav Elimelech shot back, “Unlike you, I didn’t ask!”

Rav Elimelech worked on his trust in Hashem to such an extent that he had the necessary inner strength to act with self-sacrifice without a need to ask any shailah. The opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah came, and he did whatever he could to fulfill it, without any hesitations.

The Aryeh Sha’ag, zt”l, said, “It is possible to learn this from Nazir 9. The Gemara states, ‘Ein sh’eilah b’hekdesh.’ Although this literally means that one who consecrates a sacrifice may not nullify this by post-facto regret, this can be read another way. ‘There are no questions regarding hekdesh.’ If someone questions the advisability of doing a holy deed that extends beyond their basic obligations, they are not holding by doing that mitzvah!”

Should Women Learn Gemara?

The Mishnah in Sotah states that one who teaches his daughter torah it is as if he teaches her folly. But why should this be so? The simplest reason is because learning aspects of Torah that have no application for her and will not bring her to greater yiras and ahavas Hashem can lead to arrogance. This is as true of women as men—when a person adopts a practice that goes beyond his duties and which sets him apart from others, he is vulnerable to yoharah, or arrogance.

When HaRav Yaakov Moshe Shirkin zt”l had to travel across Europe as a bochur to raise the funds to buy his way out of the draft, he met the Rav of a little town with whom he was able to speak in learning. The elderly talmid chochom took out a manuscript of chiddushim on the Minchas Chinuch, and when the younger man asked if it was his own, the Rav answered, “No, it’s my daughter’s.” The Rav then began to cry.

He explained to the young Rav Shirkin, “When I came here, I could not find a chavrusah. My only daughter was brilliant, so she and I learned together day and night. When it came time to find her a shidduch, I sent word to the most prestigious yeshivos: send me your best student, and if he is the right boy, he can have both my daughter and the position here.”

“A bochur arrived, and they got along well. But then my daughter asked: ‘Nu, how do you understand the Rambam’s p’shat regarding tum’as ha’tehom?’ The boy didn’t know the first thing about it, and she dismissed him. And this happened again, and again. As you can see for yourself…” Just then an older woman came walking in with a cane, “…she never married.”

And he wept bitterly.

Lessons for the Living

On the 20^th of Adar 5761, an “atzeres hisorrerus,” was arranged in the memory of a certain talmid chacham who had passed away. Rav Tzvi Yavrov, shlit”a, approached Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, and asked, “It says: ‘Thirty days before Pesach one may not eulogize.’ What is the exact definition of hisorrerus as opposed to hesped? What is the demarcation between arousing one to repentance and eulogizing?”

Rav Kanievsky replied, “A hesped is about the deceased. Hisorrerus is a discussion of issues about which the tzibur needs a wake-up call. Saying what we can learn from the niftar is also in this category.”

“But regarding what should the speakers issue their wake-up call?”

Rav Kanievsky responded, “Ask the rabbis what they think.”

“But what topic should be discussed, in the Rav’s opinion?”

Rav Kanievsky replied, “One of the four things the Mishnah warns brings pestilence in its wake is partaking of fruit of shevi’is, of the shemitah year. It warns, ‘Motzei Shevi’is on account of the fruits of shevi’is. The security situation in Israel now, during this year after shemitah, is like a plague! Arabs surround us, so we need to strengthen shemitah observance for protection!”

Rav Yavrov asked, “But aren’t the attendees are all careful regarding shevi’is?”

Rav Kanievsky answered, “Nevertheless, learning about it and discussing it has an affect on the rest of the Jewish people. As Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, said, ‘When the one learning all day in Eishyshok slackens from his Torah study, a student in Paris decides to break Shabbos!”

The Pomegranate’s Shell

Someone once asked the Maharil Diskin, zt”l, “Why is the pomegranate used as a symbol of being filled with good points? Why not an orange, or a banana, or any other fruit with a peel?”

Rav Diskin explained, “The pomegranate has a hard exterior and also a lot of waste in between the seeds. True, the apparently ‘empty ones’ among the Jewish people are filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate, but you still have to break through the hard exterior and sift through the bad in order to discover the good!”

When the Belzer Rebbe, zt”l, first came to Israel, he decided to settle in Tel Aviv. This was very disconcerting to some, because they felt that it would have been more appropriate for him to settle in an established observant community. Someone even had the nerve to question the Rebbe as to why he had settled in the middle of a non-religious area of Tel Aviv as opposed to Yerushalayim. “After all, Tel Aviv is full of goyim!” the man posed.

The Rebbe was deeply disturbed by those words. “How can you say that?” he thundered. “You have no idea how wonderful this city is! One goes down the street and sees a person who appears to be a goy coming his way. Suddenly, one realizes that it is actually a Jew, because all the ‘goyim’ here are Jewish! We know that the minute that we hear the shofar of Moshiach, the hard shell surrounding such a person will break away and his real self will surface. As long as being here does not harm those who are faithful to Torah, why shouldn’t we serve as an example to such people that there are plenty of religious Jews who are waiting for them to find their true selves and come back to their source?”

Banishing Pride

Rav Ya’akov of Lissa, zt”l, the author of the famed Nesivos, had a very unusual custom. Before he gave his shiur he would close himself in a room without any seforim. Everyone wondered what he was doing all alone in this room for such a long time. There were many speculations. Some felt that was davening for success while others believed he was reviewing the shiur by heart and testing its mettle to see if there were any weaknesses. One curious student couldn’t control himself: he secreted himself in the room to see what the Nesivos would do. What he saw didn’t leave him until his dying day.

The Nesivos, zt”l, entered the room and locked the door. He then prostrated himself on a thin board on the floor and started to admonish himself in a powerful voice repeating again and again the verse in Tehilim (50: 16): "ולרשע אמר אלוקים מה לך לספר חקי ותשא בריתי עלי פיך"—“And Hashem said to the wicked: Why should you speak of my laws and bear the covenant of My Torah upon your mouth?”

For the entire half hour he continued to intone this with more and more feeling. At the end of the half hour, the Rav stood up and took some water out of a cup to rinse away his tears. After drying off the water, the Rav went to give his shiur, completely oblivious to the student whose life he had completely changed. For how could the talmid not be transformed when he saw with his own eyes what it means to accept literally that pride is a form of idolatry?