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?

The Purifying Waters

Immersion in the Mikveh Shavuos night is perhaps the highest tevilah of the entire year. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, zt"l, writes that through this immersion one accesses the 50th gate of purity. Rav Nosson of Breslov, zt"l, explains that attaining the 50th gate of purity enables one to yearn for Hashem from any spiritual level, even the most distant.
When the Sha’arei Deah, zt”l, was passing through Frankfurt, he naturally met with the famous Rav Shimshon Rapael Hirsch, zt”l. During his visit, Rav Hirsch asked him a deep question which he recorded for posterity.
“When exactly does the mikveh confer taharah? Is it from when the one immersing is in the water, or when he leaves the water?”
When discussing this question, Rav Marzbach, zt”l, Rav of Darmstadt, recounted, “This surprised me very much. Anyone acquainted with Rav Hirsch’s approach towards Torah study knows that theoretical halachic investigations such as when tevilah actually takes effect were not his way. He immediately had a hunch that the purpose of Rav Hirsch’s inquiry was not to find out the answer for the sake of theory alone, but as part of his research for his monumental work on the meaning behind the mitzvos.”
Sure enough, after some checking, Rav Marzbach found that at the time that Rav Hirsch asked the question, he was working on the meaning behind the purifying powers of the mikveh for his epic Horev. The Rav explained, “What Rav Hirsch wrote includes two ways to understand this phenomenon. We can understand that entering the mikveh represents removing oneself from all ties to impurity. The person enters the world of renewal and removes the impurity by rejoining his source. He is submerged in water that was not drawn by man and is thus reborn.
“There is another way to understand this, however. It is possible to say that his leaving the state of self-nullification experienced in the water to a new life is what purifies. The Rav concluded, “It is more than likely that Rav Hirsch’s language includes both of these considerations, because either can be true. This was his way in his writings. To work out the halachah and explain the significance of the subject in accordance with what man’s understanding can grasp.”

The Yichus of Poverty

A certain wealthy man with an eligible daughter had two promising possible shidduchim. Both were great scholars with sterling middos. The only essential difference was their yichus. One came from a very famous line of scholars and gedolim while the other was from simple stock. The wealthy man was at a loss whom to choose. After much deliberation the only thing that emerged was that he needed help! Since the man lived in a town close to Kovno he decided to put his dilemma before the famous Rav Yitzchak Elchonon Specter, zt”l.

After describing the entire situation the wealthy man concluded, “I am leaning towards the young man with the yichus but they insist on an exorbitant dowry…”

The Gadol said, “If you want to hear what I have to say, take the one without the yichus. The yachsan is the child of a house filled with Torah; it’s no wonder that he grew to such an extent in Torah. His parents have been molding him for greatness from birth. He never achieved his scholarship on his own steam. After marriage he will be separated from his parents and be confronted with the need to earn a living. Who knows if he will continue to ascend spiritually? The young man who comes from a poor and simple ‘balebatishe’ family and has nevertheless achieved so much demonstrates that he has strong character. Such a young man will surely continue to ascend until he becomes a gadol b’Yisrael!”

“Ashreinu!”

In Teplik lived a man named Feivel who was a sincere servant of G-d. Each night without fail, he would arise at midnight to say Tikkun Chatzos. He would feel so happy that he would then dance a great deal and sing with great fervor, “Ashreinu ma tov chelkeinu!” People thought that he was strange for rejoicing so much in doing mitzvos, and because he took such delight in the simple fact of his Jewishness. As a mark of their derision they started to call him “Feivel Ashreinu.”

When Rav Nosson of Breslov, zt”l, would visit Teplik, Reb Feivel would always greet him joyously. One time, however, Reb Feivel failed to meet him when Rav Nosson came to town.

When Rav Nosson asked “Where is Feivel?” the townspeople wondered which Feivel he meant. When he made clear who he meant, they said in a dismissive tone, “Oh, him? Since you were here last, ‘Feivel Ashreinu’ passed away.”

Taking note of their disrespectful attitude, Rav Nosson spoke to them sharply. “One of the punishments of the next world, the experience that is called Olam HaTohu, is that one is forced to repeat the acts that one did in this world for what seems an endless time. Generally, this is very humiliating, because after a person is no longer blinded by his this-worldly self-interest, the repetition brings home to the person how exceedingly foolish his actions really were. Most of us spend almost all of our time without having a sense of how privileged we are to be part of the Chosen Nation. So why should you denigrate Rav Feivel? Do you think he will be ashamed in the next world when he is dancing ecstatically as he sings joyfully, ‘Ashreinu ma tov chelkeinu?’”

Food Fights

Years ago, a certain friend of Rav Tzvi Kovalsky, zt”l, approached him privately.

“As you know, I’m not married that long, but I’m already having terrible problems with my wife. We have different tastes. What I want her to prepare she doesn’t enjoy and doesn’t want to cook, and all of the ‘delicacies’ she prepares aren’t to my liking at all. We keep getting into arguments, and I don’t know what to do.”

Rav Kovalsky answered, “Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, when I was a young bochur, I came home one day from yeshiva and my mother served me vegetable soup. It was so horrible, I thought that I would have to vomit. Somehow I got it down, and when my mother asked me how I liked it, what could I say? How could I upset her after she had gone through the trouble to cook it for me? So I praised it to the skies, and when I saw how pleased she was, the awful taste didn’t bother me a bit. I even managed to accept seconds! To my dismay, I found that since my mother thought I had enjoyed it so much, the same soup was waiting for me every single day. I ate it despite all, and prayed that I would be released from the torment when I got married. Lo and behold—my devoted mother had shared my ‘favorite’ recipe with my kallah, and sure enough, the soup followed me into marriage. And so it is until today—I can barely swallow the soup, but she always is so happy when I eat it, I keep up the pretense.”

He concluded, “And you are telling me that you have problems because your tastes don’t match exactly???”

Years later, after Rav Kovalsky passed away, that same avreich told the Rav’s widow, “Rav Kovalsky’s words saved my marriage!”

A Humble Spirit

Some are familiar with the story of one mother who called to her young son, “Moshe Moshe,” while in the presence of Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l. When he heard her call he immediately assumed that she was calling him, so he turned around and asked her what she wished. It is less well known that Rav Moshe’s reaction could be considered the rule regarding the gedolim, not the exception to the rule.

Once, the secretary of the prestigious Kollel Hod in Batei Machse in Yesrushalayim called to his shamash and said, “We have received money for Mrs. Rosenfeld. Please call her to come for the money right away.”

The shamash was preoccupied with a personal matter so he completely misheard his boss’ instructions. Instead of Mrs. Rosenfeld, he thought his boss had said, “Rav Sonnenfeld.” Understandably, he went to the venerable Rav of Yerushalayim, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, who immediately answered the summons and climbed the many steps to the office of the Kollel.

The moment the shocked secretary saw Rav of Yerushalayim at his door he blurted out, “I don’t understand. If the Rav had need of me, why didn’t he summon me?”

“Actually I am answering your shamash’s summons to come for money left for me.”

At this point the secretary figured out what had transpired and furiously exclaimed that he would give the shamash a piece of his mind.

“But why?” asked Rav Sonnenfeld. “This kind of mistake could happen to anyone.”

At the Rav’s insistence the secretary agreed not to mention the mistake to the shamash.

But what is truly mind-boggling is what transpired immediately afterwards. A short time later, Mrs. Rosenfeld entered the Kollel to collect her money.

“But how did you hear?’ asked the puzzled secretary who in the heat of the moment had completely forgotten to summon the woman.

“What do you mean how? A few minutes ago the Rav of Yerushalayim knocked on my door and told me about it!”

Too Frum

Once, certain Yerushalmi Yid known to be an unusually pious talmid chacham, was discovered to uphold a very unusual stringency: he was so frum that he wouldn’t even speak to his own wife! At first, the poor woman didn’t tell anyone about this habit of her husband’s, but eventually it bothered her so much that she revealed her hidden sorrow to her mother. Both women eventually decided to go to Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, zt”l, the Rav of Yerushalayim, for advice. When they told him about the husband’s behavior, he was very upset. He sent a messenger to this man requesting that the man come to him at the time during the day when the Rav normally took a break for lunch at home.

The man arrived at the appointed time, entered the house and said, “Shalom Aleichem, Rabi u’Mori!”

Rav Yehoshua Leib ignored him and rudely left him standing there foolishly all the while that the Rav ate his lunch. Understandably, the avreich was very embarrassed to be marooned there for the course of the Rav’s meal without the slightest bit of attention paid to his presence. When the Rav finished eating, he said perfunctorily, “You may go.”

The avreich, who was no fool, immediately understood the lesson. Naturally, he began to speak to his wife at home as everyone understands is only right and fitting!”

Shamefacedness

Rav Aryeh Adler, shlit”a, a student of Rav Shach, zt”l, once went to see his Rebbi. Immediately after they exchanged pleasantries, the Rosh Yeshivah asked him a question, “You work in chinuch, tell me how you explain the vast spiritual descent of our generation?”

Rav Adler was noticeably confused, “Does the Rosh Yeshivah really believe that I need to know the answer to that question in my capacity as a mechanech?”

“Absolutely,” responded the Rosh Yeshivah decisively. “Everyone in chinuch must understand this essential point.”

“I assume the reason is the natural yeridas hadoros from Har Sinai downwards,” responded Rav Adler.

Rav Shach disagreed. “It is true that there is a yeridah from generation to generation, but that surely doesn’t explain the extent of the present generation’s descent.”

Rav Adler did not respond.

After a short pause Rav Shach answered his own question. “The solution is simply a deficiency of shame and a natural sense of propriety in the present generation. When I was young, it is true that the haskalah was making inroads everywhere, pushing people to all sorts of follies and sin. They instigated all kinds of big changes in much of the populace and caused many to change priorities in a shocking and damaging way. But with all this, people had a natural sense of shame and this protected them from doing the terrible indecencies of the present generation. The curse of Ikvesah D’mishicha, a lack of common decency, has come upon us and there is no stopping the resultant yeridah.”

The Rosh Yeshivah concluded, “You are mistaken if you think we have reached the worst of it, Hashem should protect us. Where there is a marked lack of common decency, anything is possible. Who knows to what depths we can fall, Rachmana litzlan?”

A Life of Emunah

The Shem Mi’Shmuel , zt”l, teaches that material reality reflects spiritual reality. The nighttime represents situations and times that are challenging, when everything is dark and unclear, and danger lurks everywhere. It is at just such times that we stand most in need of a beacon to light our path and keep us going. Our faith in Hashem is just such a lodestar; it broadcasts the glow and warmth of spiritual vitality out into the night to guide and strengthen us.

When spiritual night descends, the first step is to bind ourselves to Hashem. No matter what we go through, we must remain determined to strive to be connected. Once the connection is fast, we are able to illuminate the darkness with the pure light of faith in Hashem.

HaRav Yechezkel Abromsky, zt”l, was exiled to Siberia in his youth, bereft of tefillin, Torah, and the opportunity to do mitzvos. Every day, he would wake up and say modeh ani and wonder, “What kind of day awaits me; a day of slave labor, beatings, and humiliation. If I could only learn, it would all be worthwhile. But even that is beyond my reach. What do I have to be grateful for?” When he would reach the words, “rabbah emunasecha,” however, he could feel new life start to spread through his limbs. “How great is Your faith! My emunah in You is the one thing that no one has the power to take from me! Modeh ani! It’s worth living another day for this alone! A day of Siberian exile is beyond price— because emunah makes any life worthwhile!”

For the Sake of Heaven

The Divrei Yisrael of Modzhitz, zt”l, once said: “There is a well known parable regarding a tightrope performer. True, he takes money for his work, but clearly has his mind only on what he is doing while on the tightrope. We all know that if he is distracted he will surely fall. Similarly, although chazzanim take money, while they sing their mind is on the davening, not the money. It is possible to apply this to the famous gemara which states that one should learn Torah even not lishmah, for it’s own sake, since, “mitoch shelo lishma ba lishmah”—although the underlying intention is not lishmah, from doing it for not lishmah reasons one learns lishmah, because he is only thinking about what he is learning as he learns.”

This is similar to the following recollection of the Michtav M’Eliyahu, zt”l: “Every Shabbos night my father and uncle would wake up around midnight and learn until davening Shabbos morning. During the long winter months, the nights were so long their weekly seder often lasted a total of nine hours.

“As a boy, I would also wake up several hours before davening to learn. My mother, the daughter of the Alter of Kelm, zt”l, would also be up to study Midrash, Ramban, and Malbim on the weekly sedrah. When my mother woke up it was the greatest pleasure for me since she would serve us coffee and very tasty baked goods.

Rav Dessler concluded, “Although I woke up for the learning, I must admit that the savory cakes were a big part of my zeal to spring out of bed as soon as I woke up!”

The Divrei Shmuel warns that the opposite is also true regarding physical things. “Even one who for a certain period eats more than they need ‘lishmah,’ for example at many seudos mitzvah or to get energy to do a certain task, will often come to overeat shelo lishmah. In physical matters: mitoch lishmah ba lishelo l’shmah!”

The Meshulach

A meshulach once arrived in Brisk and went from house to house collecting money for tzedakah. When he reached the home of the illustrious Rav Chayim Soleveitchik, zt”l, however, he was turned aside without a penny. The town wondered what the fellow had done to deserve such mistreatment, but no one had the nerve to ask the gaon about his behavior. Some time later, it became known to all that the meshulach was actually a missionary in disguise, and all those who had contributed to his cause had inadvertently supported sinful activities.

Members of the community approach Rav Chayim zt”l with a complaint: “Now we see that the gaon had ruach hakodesh—but why weren’t we told before? Why were we allowed to give to his cause?”

Rav Chayim zt”l laughed. “You accuse me of something that I don’t have! I didn’t know anything about him at all. All I knew was that when he came to my door, I immediately wanted to give him money. There was no internal resistance at all. Right away I understood that it is impossible that there is any mitzvah involved—if there had been, my yetzer harah would have put up a fight…”

The Power of Tears

The “gates of tears” are never locked. Rav Yehudah HaChassid explained that this even refers to one who lacks good deeds; as long as he cries to Hashem, he will be answered. The Shiltei Gibborim zt”l said that anyone who cries during prayer has the entire heavens crying along with him…and those prayers will ultimately be fulfilled.

A boy from Bnei Brak went to the army and befriended an irreligious soldier, from a kibbutz in northern Israel. Once, they both got a pass for Shabbos. The frum boy said, “Why travel all the way to the kibbutz? We’re so close to Bnei Brak—come to my house for Shabbos instead.” His friend agreed.

When it came time to go to shul, the religious soldier said to his friend, “Why not join me?”

The kibbutznik responded good-naturedly, “I don’t really know what it’s all about, but since you asked, I’ll come along.”

The next time they had a Shabbos “off,” the kibbutznik came to shul without being invited, and slowly but surely he became a baal teshuvah.

His father had learned in cheder with the Chazon Ish and later became irreligious, and was furious. The man decided to go to the gadol ha’dor to “rectify” the situation.

“Your people kidnapped my son!” the man thundered.

“When there is a kidnapping, one usually calls the police,” the Rav said calmly.

“I’ll do worse!” threatened the father.

“Go right ahead,” the Chazon Ish retorted.

“Avremel,” exclaimed the father, “Don’t you know how many tears my father shed that I should remain frum? They didn’t help him, and this won’t help you either!”

The Chazon Ish sprang from his seat and cried, “Tears are never wasted! Your father’s tears may not have helped you, but they are helping your son!”

The Waters of the Mikveh

The Gemara teaches that the equivalent of the sacrifices today is prayer and study of the laws of korabanos, and Rav Shlomo Friedman zt”l explains that this concept also applies to the mikveh. One who immerses with pure intentions can also become truly purified even in this day and age. The Arizal taught that this purity is essential for attaining holiness, and if we long to feel the added sanctity of Shabbos, the Zohar Hakadosh tells us to immerse. As the Chayei Adam writes, going to the mikveh will allow us to experience the neshamah yeseirah, the “extra” soul of Shabbos, which is manifest in an outpouring of love and fear of Hashem.

For a person who sincerely wants to grow and come closer to Hashem, the mikveh is clearly crucial. The Tikunei Zohar explains one reason why its waters have the power to return a person to his source and feel renewed. When a vessel needs to be remade, we return it to the smelting fire in which it was forged. Just like a fetus submerged in the waters of the womb, immersion in the mikveh is the return to the primordial state that precedes new life. We repent before immersing, and emerge purified from the sins of our old selves.

Rav Yosef Chayim Sonnenfeld zt”l would spend a long time in the mikveh every day, and since he was one of the great sages of his generation, people noticed his extended visits. They paid careful attention to his practices and discovered that the Rav actually immersed 310 times, every day. Since Rav Sonnenfeld was known to be extremely careful to make full use of his time, it was clear that not a single immersion was superfluous. One member of the community asked what his meditations involved during those many descents below the water’s surface.

Rav Sonnenfeld explained, “I think about the greatness of the mikveh, that it has the power to transform a goy into a Jew. Surely it can take a Jew like me and make me into a true Jew!”

Spirit of th eLaw: Lag B'omer

7) “…According to both customs, all of the prohibitions of sefira are permitted on Lag B’Omer…”

According to the Chasam Sofer, zt”l, one reason why we celebrate on Lag B’Omer is day #33 of the sefira count transcends the thirty-two different major types of defilement listed by the Rambam in his introduction to Taharos. Apparently, each day represents working through a different av hatum’ah and from day thirty-three onward we are done with the spiritual roots of impurity. This is the concept of the verse: "גל עיני ואביטה נפלאות מתורתיך"—“Uncover my eyes and I will see the wonders of Your Torah.” The Hebrew word gal is the inverse of the number 33—lag. The word niflaos, wonders, can also be read nun–plaos, which means “fifty wonders.” This is why we are joyous and experience greater dveikus on Lag B’Omer.

Rav Nosson, zt”l, also explains another way in which lag (33) corresponds to gal. Lab B’Omer is the gal (monument) that was erected to separate Yaakov and Lavan. This monument represents the barrier that a person must erect to keep out illicit thoughts. It is only fit, then, that we should pray on Lag B’Omer for pure thoughts and our moral improvement!

The Sifsei Tzaddik, zt”l, cites the following gemara: “Rashbi said, ‘I can discharge the whole world from judgment.’” (Sukkah 45b) This is actually true for all generations. Each year on Lag B’Omer, when we make a resolution to change our ways, Rabbi Shimon effects an atonement of all our sins and all our prayers are answered.

One time, a Jew from Eretz Yisrael was in Ruzhin, and was spoke with the famous Rebbe Yisrael Ruzhiner, zt”l, about Lag B’Omer in Meron.

The Rebbe asked, “So what do you see in Meron?”

The chossid answered, “Inside the cave it is Yom Kippur, and outside it is Simchas Torah!”

He meant that the heartfelt prayer near the grave itself has the sincerity and intensity of the teshuvah of Yom Kippur, and the enthusiastic and lebedike dancing outside has the joyous fervor of Simchas Torah.

The Rebbe took great pleasure from the man’s answer and said, “If so, one sees good!”

Spirit of the Law: Sefiras Homer 11

11) “On Shavuos we do not daven before the stars come out since the verse states that we shall have seven full weeks of counting.”

Reb Nosson, zt”l, writes that the seven weeks of sefira correspond to the seven main middos: Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferes, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchus. Each of these corresponds to a different day of the week: Sunday to Chessed, Monday to Gevurah, and so on. Hashem’s providence is drawn upon us through our observance of the Torah’s mitzvos. This special providence is renewed each year during the time of Matan Torah. We wait for the seven weeks to be absolutely complete, since Hashem’s hashgachah pratis must be drawn down onto the cycle of seven in its entirety on Shavuos. It is all the more important to be careful about this halachah when we consider how important it is that during the last week Malchus, which can only be rectified by drawing all the other middos into balanced action in this world, achieves completion.[1]

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[1] Likutei Halachos, Shavuos 1:7