Living a Life of Kiddush Hashem

Rav Shach, zt”l, would explain how one can fulfill the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem his entire life. “People mistakenly believe that sacrificing oneself to sanctify Hashem’s Name only applies to actual martyrdom. This is based on the well known halachah: If one must either transgress the mitzvos of the Torah or die, he should transgress except for the three cardinal sins for which one must give up his life. Rav Yochanan adds that during a time of religious persecution, even if they demand one to violate a minor mitzvah he must die.
“Yet one who delves a bit deeper will realize that self-sacrifice has a much more common application: to live a life through which one sanctifies Hashem’s Name. Although dying to sanctify the Name is a very great merit, we are also required to sanctify His name every instant of our life by living with self-sacrifice. The proof to this is from the verse, 'וחי בהם'—‘And you shall live by them.’ Our sages learn from this that one should live through the mitzvos, not die on account of them. We see from here that Hashem wants one to live fulfilling the mitzvos, not die in their fulfillment. The Torah values life to such a great extent that our sages tell us that one who commits suicide forfeits his portion in the next world.
“But how can one live a life of self sacrifice? Life is filled with tests, especially for those who keep Torah and mitzvos. We have a clear precedent for virtually every step of life. What we can and cannot do, and how to do that which we must. Those who withstand the many trials of life and fulfill Torah as it should be kept live with self-sacrifice. We have six hundred and thirteen mitzvos which teach us how to live our lives. How to eat and how to sleep; every detail is explained. Non-Jews are free to do as they please. Nevertheless, a Jew who overcomes his base urges feels filled with joy. Like a general returning from a victorious battle, he sees the positive and rejoices in his success. Most importantly, he rejoices in his portion as one of the chosen of Hashem, a son of the King.”

A Critical Period

Rav Yechiel Michel Stern, shlit”a, explained the significance of becoming bar mitzvah in a very inspiring manner. “Imagine people watching a film in a dark room. Someone walks in and wonders what will happen if he shines some of his own light on the screen. Will the images be sharper or dimmed? Of course, the moment he flips on his powerful flashlight and shines it on the screen, the image is seen for what it really is: a collection of lights that does not represent reality. People will likely insist that he stop ruining the image with the extra illumination.
“The same is true regarding illicit desires and sin. The image seems compelling only as long as one refrains from shining the light of the intellect on the image. The moment he puts it into proper perspective, it is shown to be nothing more than an illusion.
“Our sages say that the yetzer hara is compared to a fly. Like a fly which thrives on a wound or rot, but does no harm to healthy skin, our yetzer hara needs an opening to make his mischief. If one is vigilant and seals any possible entrances with his newly acquired yetzer tov, he has nothing to worry about.”
Now we can understand why a ben sorer u’moreh is only punished from bar mitzvah until three months after bar mitzvah. This time is so essential for setting safeguards and becoming a mentch that if one follows in the ways of a ben sorer u’moreh during this time, he will certainly follow an evil path for the rest of his life. Of course the rule is that the good outweighs the bad. We see from this that one who uses these three months properly, to strengthen his connection to Hashem and accept the yoke of heaven, he will surely go in a good way and live an upright life!”

True Greatness

Rav Aharon Yosef Luria, zt”l, authored “Avodas Hapanim,” a very deep work filled with deep chassidus and concepts in avodas Hashem. It is not surprising that the Beis Avraham of Slonim, zt”l, praised him highly. “Rav Aharon Yosef was of the rare few who toiled to an unusual degree in their Divine service.”
Despite his great accomplishments, Rav Aharon Yosef was also filled with humility. When a certain young man addressed him in Yiddish using the plural form as a sign of respect, he demanded to know why he addressed him so. The young man replied, “It is a sign of my esteem of an older Jew who is always learning Torah.”
The rav immediately demanded that the young man cease speaking to him in this manner. When the young man asked why, Rav Aharon Yosef replied, “Speaking to me in the third person creates distance between us and could damage our friendship.”
When people would come to him to learn chassidus, he would groan out of his innate recoil from receiving honor. On more than one occasion he said, “I feel like a person who has the reputation of being a very wealthy entrepreneur and is always being solicited for donations. In truth, he can not afford to give a penny since his entire wealth is nothing more than a front and he himself must collect in secret to maintain his own household.
“The same is true about people who come to me to learn chassidus. They figure that I am a respected elder who is filed with chassidus. Although they think I am very wealthy, I am actually quite poor and am nothing more than a beggar myself!”

The Rabbi and the Bible Critic

A certain rabbi once ran into a “freethinker” who considered himself quite a scholar. With hardly a word of introduction, the non-believer declared that he was learning Bible criticism and had spoken to many religious people who were unable to reply to the compelling questions he posed.
The rabbi asked the academic what Rishonim he had learned. The academic was obviously taken aback and his halting reply showed that he had never studied rishonim at all. He defended himself with the statement, “Clearly, the Torah must be a work that is complete in and of itself, requiring no added exposition by the rabbis...” he began.
“Anyone who thinks so has not learned it carefully,” replied the rabbi. “For example, the verse tells us, ‘and you shall slaughter of your cattle...as I have commanded you,’ yet nowhere in the rest of the Torah do we find instructions as to how we are meant to slaughter animals. Obviously, the accompanying instruction was transmitted orally—the oral Torah of the rabbis that you find superfluous.”
The academic was flustered for only a moment before blurted out his ignorant response, “There is no such verse.”
“Try parshas R’ei,” the rabbi replied. “And it’s not just there. Many mitzvos cannot possibly be fulfilled with only the written instructions. We are told to put ‘a sign’ on our arms and ‘a totafos’ between our eyes. What are these? How are we to manufacture the tzitzis that are to be placed on the corners of our garments? The list goes on and on and demonstrates clearly that the written Torah cannot be understood without the oral Torah.”
“But why was there an oral Torah?” asked the academic. “Why not write it all down?”
“Excellent question! The Maharal explains that the Torah is meant for every level, from small children to the deepest minds. It therefore has many levels of oral tradition imbedded into the text. In this manner the chumash relates to everyone since as one advances he learns what he can understand and not more. He also says that because there are so many details of the oral law it would be impossible to write everything down in any event.
“From Rabbi Eliezer in Sanhedrin 68 we see an example of this great abundance of halachos. He said that although he had learned much from his teachers, what he absorbed can be compared to a dog lapping at the sea. He was discussing the many details of each and every law, which cannot possibly be recorded without countless books. Life is complex, so why assume G-d’s word is not?”

The Greatest Segulah

The Nefesh HaChaim, zt’l, famously learns from the gemara the power of connecting to Hashem and experiencing that "אין עוד מלבדו"—“There is nothing but Him.” He learns the effectiveness of this “segulah” from Rabbi Chanina in Sanhedrin 67 and explains that one who cleaves to Hashem in his thoughts and heart can remove the from himself the influence of any force or person. He must only set in his heart that "אין עוד מלבדו", there is no force in the world besides Hashem, since everything is one with Him.
Rav Dovid Soleveitchik, shlit”a, recounted two fascinating stories about the practical use of this concept in his family. “When the time came for my grandfather, the renowned Gaon, Rav Chaim of Brisk. to present himself in Warsaw for a preliminary check-up to determine if he was fit for the army, his father made the journey with him by train. Throughout the entire journey, they learned the famous segulah in Nefesh HaChaim and the Beis Halevi adjured him to be careful not to take his mind off the segulah for one instant, even during the examination.
“To the amazement of everyone—except the Beis Halevi and Rav Chaim himself—he was given a dispensation from serving in the army for no apparent reason.”
Rav Dovid explained, “Anyone inducted into the army during those years was in serious spiritual danger. He was required to violate Shabbos every week and eat non-kosher food at every meal. It is also well known, that my father and our family left the Nazi occupation with astounding miracles. Although he had a faked passport, it was still a clear manifestation of Divine providence that he got away. Interestingly, when they got to the Soviet border, a Gestapo guard suddenly began to chase them and screamed that they halt and give him money, but Stalin’s soldiers threatened him and he ran away.
“Later, my father explained that the entire time he had indeed focused on the segulah, but when he saw the border and thought he was out of danger he stopped. The minute he did so, the Nazi began to chase them!”

Atonement for Profaning Shabbos

A pair of religious women underwent a serious trauma and needed a soothing atmosphere to recover. It was recommended that they travel to a Swiss resort for their health. While there, the atmosphere was so relaxing that they lost track of the days and miscalculated when Shabbos was due to arrive. On the day they mistakenly thought was Friday but was actually Shabbos, they did many prohibited labors. It was only when they were about to light candles before sunset that they had a feeling that they might have made an error. After a few minutes of checking, they realized they had miscalculated—they were horrified to find that they had accidentally disregarded Shabbos.
They knew enough to recite the text of the korban chatas and did so straight away, but they wished to know what else they could do to atone for their terrible mistake. Fasting is not suggested in any event nowadays since people are so weak. And, obviously, in this particular case, their poor health precluded any fasting at all. Giving money to tzedakah in lieu of the fasts was also not feasible for them since they were both of severely limited means. When they consulted with Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein, shlit”a, he ruled that they organize and attend shiurim in the halachos of Shabbos to atone for their inadvertent error.
Similarly, when HaRav Yosef Shalom Eliyashiv, shlit”a, was consulted by a man who accidentally placed a cooked dish on an uncovered burner on Shabbos, he ruled that this man should learn hilchos Shabbos to atone his sin. Since these women had violated an entire Shabbos, Rav Zilberstein required them to go one step further and organize shiurim to help others learn the halachos so that Shabbos observance would be maximized further as an appropriate atonement.

Kosher Shabbos Protests

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, advocated protesting against flagrant Shabbos violation in his times. Nevertheless, he had certain general rules that he followed to ensure that his rebukes were as effective as possible. The first rule was to avoid protesting on Shabbos itself. He explained that while Jews are involved in sinning it is much more difficult to convince them to change. As the Mishnah famously states in Avos: "עבירה גוררת עבירה"—“One sin draws another in its wake.” When Jews are involved in sin, they find it much easier to sin again by disregarding the protestor—or worse, by falling into outright sinful behavior to retaliate. And the Chofetz Chaim would say that the inverse also holds true. The Chofetz Chaim would tell those who went around selling his sefarim to bring them to shuls after davening. He reasoned that after having davened with a minyan, people would be much more likely to do the mitzvah of purchasing a sefer on guarding their speech.
Not surprisingly, the Shabbos protests lodged by the Chofetz Chaim were very effective. On one occasion, he went to a certain city with his brother-in-law to raise money for the yeshiva in Radin. When he heard that the Jews there did not keep Shabbos he wanted to leave immediately, but the locals begged him to remain so as not to shame their city. Instead of asking for donations from money tainted by chilul Shabbos, the Chofetz Chaim stayed a couple of weeks and gave three fiery derashos for the thousands of Jewish residents. In each of them he discussed the terrible ills of chilul Shabbos and the vast spiritual attainments of keeping Shabbos.
Later, when the Chofetz Chaim recounted this story to his son, he remarked, “Boruch Hashem, as a result of those derashos, three hundred stores closed for Shabbos! When people heard about this it made a great kiddush Hashem.”

The Seal of Hashem is Truth

Once, Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, zt”l, demurred before the , zt”l. “I am nothing,” he stated simply.
“Excellent!” replied the Chozeh.
“No, I don’t mean it as a kind of avodah. I mean that I am really nothing.”
“Well, it is certainly better to feel as though you are nothing from nothing than to feel that you are something from something.”
Suddenly Rav Bunim began to cry out, “Oy! But I am absolutely nothing!”
The Chozeh’s final reply assuaged Rav Bunim. “You may feel like you are nothing but at least you go in the way of Hashem. Our sages teach that the seal of Hashem is truth. If a person thinks that he achieves something on his own, he is living a lie. As our sages say, if Hashem does not help one in his daily struggle with his evil inclination, evil would prevail.”
Rav Simcha Henoch of Alexander, zt”l, explained why Hashem’s seal is specifically truth. “Why not use one of the attributes that are mentioned earlier in the grouping of His thirteen middos, such as רחום or חנון? The answer is that every other attribute can be faked, in which case it is false. A person can show mercy where it is not warranted, or be gracious inappropriately. Usually he will then be cruel when it is proper to show mercy, like our sages tell us about Shaul and Agag.
“The only attribute that cannot be falsified is truth. The reason why is obvious. If one falsifies truth, it is not truth at all!”

Judging Favorably

The Klausenberger Rebbe, zt”l, once gave a very inspiring shiur about judging others favorably. “The Chozeh of Lublin, zt”l, explained that the greater a tzaddik is, the more he is able to judge others favorably. A true tzaddik can even see the good in a wicked person who appears to have no positive qualities at all. The tzaddik searches and searches until he is finally able to see good even in him.
“We find a similar idea in the writings of the students of the Arizal regarding the special quality of Moshiach. He will truly understand the motivations of even the worst person, and this will enable him to always give the other the benefit of the doubt. This explains why we judges in a capital case which sentenced someone to death must fast. The gemara learns this from the verse, 'לא תאכלו על הדם'—‘Do not eat upon the blood.’ The fact that the sanhedrin found someone guilty means that they must fast. If they were truly righteous, they would have found a way to judge the murderer favorably, as expressed in the startling statement of Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva: ‘If we were in the sanhedrin no one would ever have been killed.’ Due to their great righteousness they would have found a way to exonerate even the worst-seeming wicked person in the world.”

Protecting the Honor of Shabbos

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, advocated protesting against flagrant Shabbos violation in his times. Nevertheless, he had certain general rules that he followed to ensure that his rebukes were as effective as possible. The first rule was to avoid protesting on Shabbos itself. He explained that while Jews are involved in sinning it is much more difficult to convince them to change. As the Mishnah famously states in Avos: "עבירה גוררת עבירה"—“One sin draws another in its wake.” When Jews are involved in sin, they find it much easier to sin again by disregarding the protestor—or worse, by falling into outright sinful behavior to retaliate. And the Chofetz Chaim would say that the inverse also holds true. The Chofetz Chaim would tell those who went around selling his sefarim to bring them to shuls after davening. He reasoned that after having davened with a minyan, people would be much more likely to do the mitzvah of purchasing a sefer on guarding their speech.
Not surprisingly, the Shabbos protests lodged by the Chofetz Chaim were very effective. On one occasion, he went to a certain city with his brother-in-law to raise money for the yeshiva in Radin. When he heard that the Jews there did not keep Shabbos he wanted to leave immediately, but the locals begged him to remain so as not to shame their city. Instead of asking for donations from money tainted by chilul Shabbos, the Chofetz Chaim stayed a couple of weeks and gave three fiery derashos for the thousands of Jewish residents. In each of them he discussed the terrible ills of chilul Shabbos and the vast spiritual attainments of keeping Shabbos.
Later, when the Chofetz Chaim recounted this story to his son, he remarked, “Boruch Hashem, as a result of those derashos, three hundred stores closed for Shabbos! When people heard about this it made a great kiddush Hashem.”

Who is Fit to Lead?

Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, zt”l, was anxious that his son Rav Eliezer, zt”l, succeed him in leading his chassidim. But of course this could never be like the mere dynasty of a king who bequeaths the kingship to his son no matter the worthiness of his scion. The chassidim needed an exceptional guide who did his utmost to perfect himself and continue ascending in avodas Hashem. In order to ensure that his son was not resting on his impressive laurels, Rav Elimelech would give him mussar every so often to galvanize him to further efforts. “Our sages teach that when Moshe and Aharon would walk in front of the nation, Nadav and Avihu would follow them. Nadav said to Avihu, ‘When will these old-timers die and you and I will lead the generation?’”
Rav Elimelech explained, “Know my son that Nadav and Avihu were very great tzaddikim. But even so, they would wonder from time to time whether they were really on the level for the job of leading the nation. This is the meaning of their strange words. Nadav asked ‘When?’ When will we make a real cheshbon hanefesh? ‘These two elders will eventually die and it will be up to us to shoulder the burden of leading the generation.’ It is our task to continually make a cheshbon hanefesh whether we are worthy of taking their place...’”
Rav Elimelech sighed and concluded in a very moving matter. “The younger generation always feel worthy of filling in the shoes of their elders. In truth they need to work hard to much improve themselves in holiness and purity. They do this by following the ways of their elders and delving deeply in Torah and avodah. It is only in this manner that one can possibly be fitting to lead.”

"Shpitz Litvak!"

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said: "I want my path to spread among the Litvishe hearts!" (Siach Sarfei Kodesh II:257)

Some ask: if we are focused on the ample rewards of Torah, why doesn’t this impinge on Torah l’shmah?
Perhaps the best answer to this question is found in the words of the Avnei Nezer, zt”l. “I heard that certain people ascribe to a grievous error regarding learning Torah. They claim that one who enjoys learning must be definition be learning with a lesser level of ‘l’shmah’ than a person who feels no pleasure in what he learns since the latter is only learning to fulfill the mitzvah, while the former also learns for the joy he feels in learning.
“This is a fallacy, since we find that the opposite is certainly true; the main mitzvah of learning Torah is to take delight and feel happiness in one’s learning. It is only Torah learned in this manner that truly penetrates to a person’s innermost being. This is explicit in the Zohar, which states that joy gives strength to one’s good inclination while depression and sadness feeds his inner urge for evil.
“Obviously, one who learns for pleasure without a thought of coming close to Hashem is still on the level of shelo l’shmah. But even regarding this person, our sages say, ‘Through learning not l’shmah, one comes to learn l’shmah.’”
When someone asked the Chazon Ish, zt”l, what he thought about this essential part of the Avnei Nezer’s approach to how one must learn, he replied, "דאס איז שפיץ ליטוואק"—“This is the essence of what it means to be a Litvak!”

Honoring One’s Parents

Rav Borodiansky shlit”a (the son-in-law of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l) relates that all of Rav Auerbach’s efforts to clarify the halachos of using electricity on Shabbos were inspired by his desire to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring his mother. She required a hearing aid, and avoided using it on Shabbos because of fear of violating the halachah. When Rav Shlomo Zalman ztz”l saw how pained she was by being cut off from everyone around her, he did his absolute utmost to make this very complex area of halachah more clear.
Rav Shlomo Bloch zt”l once received a letter from an old friend with whom he had learned in Novardok, asking that he bring his question before the Chofetz Chayim zt”l. His friend was an unmarried man of twenty-six, but wore his beard long and it made him look about forty years old. He had received a letter from his father commanding him to shave. He would like to know what he must do—does he have to listen to his father in such a case? The Chofetz Chayim began by asking Rav Shlomo, “Is he normal?” When Rav Shlomo answered in the affirmative, the Chofetz Chayim began to groan, “Such hard things a father puts on his child?!” The Chofetz Chayim then said, “I cannot answer the question, for that he will need to ask Rav Chayim Brisker, but I can give him some advice. He should write to his father that since his whole demand that his son shave is so that he should be marriageable, well, he only wants to marry a girl who is looking for a boy with a beard! And if he shaves, he will not find the kind of girl that he is looking for.” The advice that the Chofetz Chayim gave worked, and not much time passed before the young man got married and became a Rav in a small town.

An Undeserved Curse

Sometimes people get into altercations that can turn very heated. One woman got into a fight with her neighbor and was so upset that she pronounced some hair-raising curses. Her neighbor was very upset even though she had done nothing to deserve such curses. Despite her blamelessness, she felt very uncomfortable and wondered if this was merely superstition or if there was any basis to being afraid of such a curse.
When Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein, shlit”a, was consulted about the matter, he explained that an undeserved curse was definitely nothing to worry about. “This is clear from Rashi in Sanhedrin who writes that an undeserved curse becomes manifest for the person who wrongly did the cursing. Yet this seems to contradict the gemara in Gittin 35a regarding Rabbah bar Rav Huna. There we find that a widow asked him to allow her to collect her Kesuvah When he said that this was impossible, she asked him to fix the amount she was entitled to receive to pay for her upkeep from her deceased husband’s estate. He said, ‘Now that you have asked for your kesuvah, you are no longer eligible to receive anything from his estate.’ The distressed woman cursed him and he was always weak after that episode. According to Rashi, though, we should ask why wasn’t she cursed rather than him since the curse was undeserved?”
“My brother-in-law, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, explained that she had a bona fide claim on Rabbah bar Rav Huna. Although he was halachically correct, he should have realized that he was dealing with a broken-hearted widow and treated her accordingly. In such cases it is incumbent on a dayan to explain the halachah clearly and gently, to ensure that she understands and can accept it.”

Slaughtering the Yetzer

The Beis Yisrael of Gur, zt”l, worked incessantly to encourage others to use every ounce of their strength to fight the yetzer hara. For tens of years, he acted like a general, imbuing his chassidim with the fortitude that enabled them to overcome many bitter tests.
Many chassidim remember his penetrating gaze that would sweep the room filled wall to wall with chassidim. It was when they had just finished saying the ten chapters of Tehillim that they recited after every Mincha since the Yom Kippur war. His face radiated a glowing fire as he would intone, 'זובח תודה יכדנני!'
Every man present knew exactly what he was referring to. Our sages use this verse as the proof of a very striking statement. “Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, ‘Anyone who slaughters his yetzer by doing teshuvah and confessing his sin is considered to have honored Hashem in this world and the next. As the verse states, 'זובח תודה יכדנני!'”
But of course, it takes a huge effort to overcome one’s natural inclination to minimize and rationalize our flaws away. Yet this effort is well worth it. The Toras Avos of Slonim, explains this in his insightful way. “First one must be slaughter his yetzer by mustering up all of his strength to force himself to overcome his evil inclination. Even though he is filled with longing for what he knows to be wrong, he forces himself to abstain, even though in his gut he doesn’t yet feel his behavior was so negative. But if he forces himself despite his inability to grasp why in much more than an intellectual way, the Mishnah in Avos is fulfilled in him. ‘Nullify your desires before Hashem’s will.’ After bending his yetzer to Hashem’s will, he will begin to feel how truly reprehensible his old ways were and he is able to say viddui from the bottom of his heart.”

Parshas Emor: Picking and Choosing Tzaddikim

Once, when Rav Yochanan of Rachmastrivka, zt”l, visited a certain city, a huge throng came out to greet him. Among the crowd were all the Jewish notables and virtually every Jewish man, woman, and child in town. A certain person who fashioned himself an opponent of the rebbe was also present and was very distressed to see such an impressive welcome. This man was so furious that he actually approached the rebbe and brazenly said, “You are supposed to be modest and hold yourself to be of no consequence. If this is so, why has everyone come out to greet you? What have you done to deserve such honor?”
“I also have no idea why they are giving me such distinction,” the rebbe shrugged. He immediately added, “Yet if this is how they are treating me, it is clear that this is heaven’s will and if that is the case, you should be as afraid to provoke me as you would a raging flame!”
A similar thing happened to Rav Meir of Premishlan, zt”l, when a chassid of Rav Yisrael of Ruzhin, zt”l, spent time with him. When it was clear that the chassid was judging Rav Meir and found him wanting compared to other tzaddikim, Rav Meir said, “Do you know why the mekoshes eitzim deserved to die? The word for wood, עצים, can also refer to tzaddikim. As our sages explain on the verse, 'היש בה עץ'—‘is there any tree there?’—the spies wanted to know if there is a tzaddik in Canaan whose merit will protect them. It is possible to explain that a mekoshesh eitzim is one who picks and chooses between tzaddikim and arbitrarily decides that one tzaddik is worthy and deserving while another is not. The punishment of such a person is very severe...”

The Love of the Ohev Yisrael

A shochet holds a position of responsibility and can be removed at any time if he is deemed unfit. There is much discussion in the poskim regarding exactly what blemish disqualifies a shochet and in what circumstances his contrite repentance will allow him to retain his job.
One time, a certain shochet was caught doing the sin for which Pinchas held Zimri to account. Although this man had a large family of dependents, many people wished to remove him from his post. Rav Meir of Premishlan, zt”l, vehemently agreed with them. However, the Ohev Yisrael of Apt, zt”l, insisted that they give the repentant shochet another chance, especially since he did his job carefully and had no other way to support his family.
When the Apter Rav told Rav Meir his opinion, the latter asked him how he could possibly justify such a position. “Our sages tell us that this sin is so severe that 'קנאים פוגעין בו'—zealots may dispense justice just like Pinchas did with Zimri. What relevance does his livelihood have in our situation where he violated such a serious transgression?”
“That is not how I learn that gemara at all,” the Ohev Yisrael replied. “The word פוגעין also means to pray. I understand the statement, 'קנאים פוגעין בו'—those who are zealous must pray for the unfortunate sinner and induce him to repent sincerely. We can learn this from Moshe Rabbeinu’s response to Pinchas as well. He told Pinchas, 'קריינא דאיגרתא'—‘is this how you read this letter?’ Moshe meant to explain that he did not act as Pinchas because he understood that his job was to tearfully pray for the wretched sinners.
“Even so, Moshe did not stop Pinchas from acting on his pshat. He said to him: 'לכן היה אתה השליח בה'—since you understand this halachah differently than I do, you are certainly within your rights to carry out your understanding of the law.”
The Ohev Yisrael concluded, “You are certainly within your rights to have this man deposed since, according to your understanding, he may not be retained as a shochet. However I will take no part in this since I do not understand that way at all!”

The Minyan

Rav Yaakov of Amshinov, zt”l, worked to fulfill the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim. Once, he returned home at an inordinately late hour. It was so late that when he sought a minyan to daven Maariv, it was hard to find anyone who still hadn’t prayed.
Completely nonplussed, the Rebbe ordered his gabbai to go to the local hangout. Any Jews in there would likely not have davened maariv—perhaps not for many long weeks or months! Sure enough the gabbai found several Jews there whom he convinced to complete the minynan. Most of them were so divorced from Yiddishkeit that the gabbai had to provide some kind of head covering so that they could join the minyan.
When the Admor of Amshinov from America, zt”l, told this story he would conclude. “Our sages teach that the Divine presence rests with ten Jews. Even if they are completely wicked, if they join a minyan to daven, the Shechinah rests upon them.”
A similar thing happened in the famous Zichron Moshe shtibel in Yerushalayim. Known for having a minyan even at very late hours, several very busy Jews found that there is no guarantee of a minyan at all times. When they poured out their heart to Rav Gutfarb, the gabbai, he presented a very simple solution to their problem. He dialed a local cab company which only employed Jewish drivers and ordered a whole bunch of taxis. When they got there he met them and asked them to put on a kipah, turn on the meter, and join the minyan in prayer. Of course there were exactly enough drivers to make up a minyan and after a very enthusiastic davening Rav Gutfarb asked them what he owed them for the privilege of making a minyan. Not one driver would take a penny. Instead they thanked him. One remarked that perhaps they owed him.
He wondered aloud, “Do you know how long it’s been since I have been in a shul...?”

“The Sinners of Israel”

A certain maskil once met with a tzaddik and asked him to explain the meaning of a seemingly difficult midrash. The midrash recounts that Hashem showed Moshe a fiery coin, and said, “Give your tzedakah like this.” Why not show him a coin of silver, which is what the machatzis hashekel was actually made?” The tzaddik was unsure of what this could mean, so the maskil himself offered an interpretation. “This means that when one gives charity he should do so with warmth and fiery enthusiasm!”
When the tzaddik heard this explanation from the maskil he felt discouraged since he had not thought of this lovely pshat. A certain visitor to the Beis Yaakov of Ishbitz, zt”l, told him this story and then asked, “What merit did the maskil have to say such an inspiring pshat on the midrash?”
The Beis Yaakov was not at all surprised that the maskil had come up with such a lovely chiddush. He explained why by quoting a famous statement of our sages. “We are taught that even the sinners of Israel are filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate is filled with seeds. Hashem does not write off any Jew. Even the people who are very distant from Hashem feel an inexplicable desire to donate money to tzedakah, thereby earning a portion in the next world. Is it any wonder then that in the area where this maskil excels, he had an unusual insight?”
When Rav Eliyahu Chaim Meisel, zt”l, came up against ignorant and impudent Jews who refused his requests for help that was well within their means, he remarked. “A tzaddik knows that he is very far from perfection and is always on the lookout for opportunities to improve. Conversely, our sages remark that even the sinners of Israel are filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate. A person who is almost empty of mitzvos feels so filled spiritually by the little he does that he has no drive to improve himself!”
But Rav Boruch of Mejbuz, zt”l, learned an even more biting lesson from this statement. “We see that a person who is truly filled with mitzovs like a pomegranate, can still be considered a sinner, פושע ישראל,”

The Power of Tzedakah

A certain man experienced an absolute miracle and was told that he should consider making a seudas hoda’ah. Since he was unclear what the exact source of this custom is he decided to ask Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, if this was correct and, if so, for the exact source of this practice.
Rav Shlomo Zalman replied, “There is no real source to do so, but that is the custom. Obviously, you must give thanks and making a meal is one way to do so. But if you give tzedakah instead, this is a much better way to give thanks to Hashem.”
A certain man who had been very sinful and wished to repent his misdeeds consulted with Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach about how to atone for his many wrongs. Although this man was sure that he would be instructed to fast or do some kind of painful penance, what the Rav told him would never have crossed his mind. After giving some very pointed advice to ensure that this man strengthen himself to prevent a relapse to his old ways Rav Shlomo Zalman added, “Give as much tzedakah as you can to poor talmidei chachamim and institutions of Torah and Chessed.”
A certain baal teshuvah would give large sums of money to tzedakah and was very gratified with all the good that he had done throughout his life. As he got older he felt that it would be a good idea to be buried with the many receipts he had received for his generous donations, but he wondered if this was halachically permitted.
When he asked Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach this question, he received an answer that surprised him. “It is permitted to do it, but it would be inane. In heaven, everything is revealed and they have no need of any decomposed receipts!”

Visiting the Sick

Once, a group of people encountered Rav Chaim Chizkiyahu, zt”l, the illustrious Sdei Chemed, walking under the beating sun on a hot summer’s day. The people asked him where he was headed and, knowing how careful he was never to waste a moment, they were surprised by his reply.
He said, “I am going to visiti so-and-so who is sick and lives not far from here.”
The group immediately pointed out that the sick man did not deserve this distinction since he was a well known sinner. The Sdei Chemed disagreed.
He argued, “First of all, our sages tell us that even the sinners of Israel are filled with merit like a pomegranate is filled with seeds, so he is certainly worthy of the visit in his own right. Secondly, we learn from the verse that the Shechinah is above the head of a sick person. So even if he were not to deserve a visit, we are not only going to visit him, we are also going to visit the Shechinah which is with him.”
The group was so moved by the words of the Sdei Chemed that they decided to accompany him to the sickbed. When the group was ushered in to the patient, he girded himself and sat up in their honor. A few days later he walked the streets, completely healed. From that day on, this man turned over a new leaf and left his bad ways behind. No fault was ever found in him again

Yielding the Right of Way

When the government of Israel wished to pass a law requiring all girls to serve in the army, the Chazon Ish, zt”l, and many other gedolim were steadfast in their ruling that the girls should literally die rather than allow themselves to be conscripted for any reason. Ben Gurion met the Chazon Ish in an effort to force him to submit to the law, or at least to convince him to withdraw his psak that conscription of girls was an issue of יהרג ואל יעבר.
When Ben Gurion asked the Chazon Ish how the secular and charedi elements of Israeli society could possibly find a way to bridge the gap between them, he replied with a parable from the gemara. “Our sages teach that if there are two wagons on a narrow road, one full and one empty, which wagon must accommodate its counterpart? Surely the empty one must make space for the full wagon to pass first. The wagon of the chareidim has been filled with Torah and mitzvos for thousands of years, ever since the revelation at Mt Sinai. Your wagon is empty since you only began to fill it a comparatively short time ago. You must make space to accommodate the religious community.”
But because the Chazon Ish did not want to insult Ben Gurion, who was a guest in his home, he added, “You should not misunderstand me when I say our wagon is full and yours is empty. Our wagon is full of the many halahcos such as Shabbos and kashrus that we are required to observe. Your wagon is ideologically flexible enough to accommodate us, since you are not required to eat non-kosher and you need not profane Shabbos to be an upstanding member of secular society. You can give in to our approach and lose nothing by it. We cannot."

A Tzaddik's Advice

A certain businessman purchased a large quantity of esrogim. He had two options for importing them but was unsure which was best. Although he didn’t know much about his options, he figured he would consult with Rav Simchah Bunim of Otbotzek, zt”l, regarding this question. After all, surely the tzaddik would steer him right. But when he did so, he received a very surprising reply. “Our sages recount that when Dovid HaMelech would go to war, he would first ask Doeg and Achitofel and consult with the Sanhedrin. The third step was for them to consult with the Urim V’Tumim. But why not circumvent the first two steps? Wouldn’t it be easier just to ask the Urim V’Tumim?
“The answer is that one must first do his utmost to check out a proposal through the light of his own understanding. He can consult with the Urim V’Tumim only after careful consideration. The same is true regarding your question. It is incumbent upon you to do your utmost to clarify which way is best. If, after all your efforts, you are still uncertain, then you can consult with me and I will do my utmost to help you make the best choice possible.”
Rav Yitzchak Moshe Ehrlenger, shlit”a, once pointed out, that people often make such mistakes regarding the place of a rebbe. “Some feel that the job of a tzaddik is to somehow remove their free will. These people will ask the strangest questions, like, ‘Should I go do my banking today?’ They fail to understand that that while a rebbe can often advise one and put him on a good path, he cannot—and should not—circumvent the need for his chassidim to think for themselves.”

The Rise to Greatness

“One time Rav Chaim, the av beis din of Linitz and the author of Divrei Mishpat, zt”l, ascended the bimah and announced that he was resigning his position as av beis din of their community. When the surprised congregation asked what had caused him to take such a drastic step, he refused to explain. All he would say is that he was no longer interested in being their rav.
The prominent people in the town immediately began to plead with him to reconsider his decision, and after quite a bit of arguing he agreed to be reinstated as their rav and av beis din. At that moment, they again asked him why he had decided to resign from his position in the first place. His reply was quite a shock to them.
“Our sages teach that one does not ascend to greatness until his sins are first forgiven. By abdicating and being reinstated, all my sins were again forgiven. Wasn’t this worthwhile?”
But why should attaining a position afford atonement to sins? When someone presented this question to the Noam Megadim, zt”l, he explained: “In Eiruvin 13 we find that Hashem uplifts those who humble themselves. It follows that one who was appointed to a holy position must have humbled himself. Since in Sotah 8 our sages teach that one who is humble is considered to have brought all the sacrifices it follows that his sins are also forgiven!”

Do Gedolim Have Ruach Hakodesh? Can They Bring Heavenly Assistance?

Our Sages teach that Chaggai, Zechariyah, and Malachi were the last prophets. Yet Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, points out that this statement hardly seems congruous with many other statements throughout Shas. He says, “For example, in Eiruvin 64 we find that Rabban Gamliel spoke with ruach hakodesh. The same is true of Rabbi Akivah in Nedarim 50 and other places.
“Even in Tosafos in Menachos 109, we find that Rabbi Kalonymus said three things before he died which where later discovered to be prescient. Rav Chaim Vital, zt”l, writes similarly, that people genuinely had ruach hakodesh in his times. And we have heard similar things about the Gaon of Vilna, zt”l, and the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l. To explain this apparent contradiction, we must say that there are many levels of ruach hakodesh. Sometimes, a chochom feels as though he has been enlightened by heaven and it is really so. This is clear from the writings of the Chazon Ish, zt’l, in Emunah and Bitachon at the end of chapter 2. ‘There is a level of bitachon through which one merits that ruach hakodesh rests on him and informs him that Hashem will surely help in a certain situation. This level is stronger or weaker in direct accordance to the greatness and holiness of the one filled with trust.’
“This is clear from the Ramban in Bava Basra 12. He writes that although prophecy has been taken from us, this is only true of the visions that prophets would experience. But the sages can know the truth through the ruach hakodesh that is within them. Such נבואת החכמים is definitely still extant.’ This is why we find that people who go to chachomim are often afforded heavenly assistance. Sometimes this is in the merit of the gadol, but at other times what brings the deliverance is the bitachon of the petitioner.”

Spirit of te Law; Pesach: Kitzur 107

1) “During the entire month of Nissan one does not say Tachanun…” (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 107:1)

The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, explains that Tachanun is usually said in order to bring about the downfall of the sitra achra, the “side” of spiritual impurity. We cast ourselves down to symbolize the descent into the sitra achra, and by the time we come up we have extracted holy sparks from the abyss. By doing this, the hidden light of holiness which has been swallowed by the other side reverts to the side of kedushah.

However, during Nissan—the time of the great miracles of the birth of the Jewish people—the sitra achra has already been subdued and there is no need to do this rectification. On the contrary, not only does the sitra achra have less power, but a little teshuvah during this holy month goes a very long way!

The Chesed L’Avraham, zt”l, writes that between Purim and Pesach we escape the forty-nine levels of impurity a little at a time. Each day, we are removed from a bit more defilement. By the time Rosh Chodesh Nissan arrives, we are sufficiently removed that we don't even need to say Tachanun to be worthy of a true connection with Hashem. As we have already seen, Tachanun clears away our blemishes. The Arizal explains that although our Shemona Esrei is a connection to Hashem, it is incomplete without the Tachanun prayer. It is Tachanun that removes the sins swallowed by the other side that block our ability to really connect with Hashem. First, we do teshuvah. Then we “fall” in order to show that we are rectifying the damage done by our sins. Only after this process is our connection to Hashem through our Shemona Esrei truly consummated, since the sins impeding us have been removed.

During the month of Nissan, we are already elevated to such an extent that we do not need this process to remove the residue from our sins which would otherwise stand in our way. At this time, our teshuvah and dveikus during the Shemona Esrei alone is enough to merit true connection. This is because Hashem has sufficiently removed us from our personal forty-nine levels of defilement that keep us from living the fulfilled and joyous lives that we all instinctively know we should be living. Our ego gets in our way with its harmful pride and we cannot enjoy our blessings. So we go down in Tachanun to represent the fact that we are nothing at all and that nothing is coming to us. We then remove the sparks which the other side grabbed hold of because of our tremendous arrogance. This is why in earlier times people would literally lie prostrate on the ground during the prayer—complete prostration is the embodiment of humility. (Based on Likutei Halachos).

2) “We do not fast during the month of Nissan, even for a Yahrtzeit…” (Ibid., 107:2)

Rav Pinchas of Koretz, zt”l, explains that everything in the natural world comprises an aspect of katnus (“smallness” / “immaturity”) and gadlus (“greatness” / “maturity”). The katnus of the thing is always in inverse proportion with its real significance in the scheme of things. For example, although a day-old calf can already walk, although its katnus state is quite advanced, its gadlus state is spiritually undeveloped. In contrast, a day-old infant can do nothing and must be well swaddled and protected to ensure its survival. Even if it takes a baby as long as two years to master walking, this is still within the range of normal. There is no creature with as undeveloped katnus as a human being. The reason for this is because once a person comes to gadlus, he can come to great levels of gadlus. Mankind rules over all of creation. If he is worthy, a person can even rule over angels!

Sleep is also an aspect of katnus and so there is also a difference between creatures in this area. A horse, for example, sleeps standing up. Most beheimos tehoros sleep on their knees (at least part of the time). A human being, however, lies down to sleep—the most vulnerable and “undeveloped” position. The katnus of the sleep state is in an inverse relationship with the gadlus one attains while awake and mentally active. As the verse says, “chadashim la-b’karim”—“one is renewed each morning.” A person is renewed each day with increased understanding and more maturity. An animal’s mentality is negligible compared with that of a person; their gadlus is limited, so the katnus of their sleep state is far less and they need not lie down.

Another example of the katnus that precedes gadlus is this seemingly endless exile that we are enduring. When Moshiach comes we will merit intensely strong gadlus, and so we must first endure overwhelming katnus at great length. Fasting is also an aspect of katnus as we find in Pri Etz Chaim. For this reason, a bride and groom fast on the day of their wedding, and this is why it is very important to fast in general. Without experiencing the requisite degree of mochin d’katnus, one is unable to receive the mochin d’gadlus that are in store. This is one reason why there are a minimum number of fasts throughout the year. Rav Pinchas of Koretz even recounted that he had known several cases of people who were chronically ill because they had blemished their mochin d’katnus. He told them to fast and they subsequently enjoyed quick recoveries.

During Nissan, we are gifted with an abundance of holiness from on high. This is the wrong time to be fasting to correct the state of katnus. During Nissan, we are in an aspect of gadlus and fasting would only blemish this state. This is true of all fasts except for that of the firstborn on Erev Pesach (see Spirit of the Law—Pesach 113) and the fast of a bride and groom. This latter fast is a very important means of preparing for the couple’s new life together. Without marriage, one is a broken half. We need a fully rectified state of mochin d’katnus to be able to receive this intense gadlus for life called marriage. Even though we are in an aspect of gadlus in Nissan, our level before marriage compared with our level after marriage is like entering the greatest gadlus from the greatest katnus. Therefore, a bride and groom should fast on the day of their wedding.

3) “During Minchah of Shabbos Hagadol, one should recite the Haggadah instead of Barchi Nafshi since this Shabbos was the beginning of the miracles and the salvation…” (Ibid., 170:3)

Rav Nosson, zt”l, writes that all miracles come in the merit of Shabbos. This is because all miracles are a result of Hashem’s special providence over the whole world which is an aspect of the world to come. Shabbos is a mini-taste of the world to come in this world. Therefore, all miracles come from Shabbos, and this is why the miracles and the salvation of Pesach started on Shabbos.

This Shabbos is called Shabbos Hagadol since miracles are referred to as “gadol”—“great things.” (We see this in the verse: “Recount to me the great things that Elisha wrought.” [Melachim II:8:4]) All of these miracles were achieved in the merit of the special providence that is drawn into the world on Shabbos.

How is Torah Just?

Rav Shalom Shwadron, zt”l, taught, “Imagine someone as righteous as Rav Chaim Brisker, zt”l. He truly sacrifices for Torah and learns every second of the day with the intention of extracting every detail of halachah in every sugya—especially with regards to monetary matters. Now contrast this with some freethinker known to have very loose morals. If Rav Chaim were to take the freethinker to beis din claiming that he owed him money and the freethinker claims to have paid, who would we believe?

“We all know that Rav Chaim was famous for his great humility and that he gave every penny of his assets to help anyone in need. Anyone in search of a hot meal or a donation of money or firewood knew to go straight to Rav Chaim’s home. Everyone understands that Rav Chaim would never lie to receive a few dollars that do not belong to him, since he will not even partake of anything that has the slightest tinge of theft. Does anyone believe this freethinker against him?

“If left to our own devices we may have declared that we have a majority of opinion in Rav Chaim’s favor, and the overwhelming odds are that the maksil still owes the money. Why not just force him to pay it back? But this is not the halachah. The halacha is that Rav Chaim will only win if he is correct according to the halachos relevant to his case. Even though logic clearly favors him, the beis din may not. This is the meaning of the verse, 'כי המשפט לאלוקים הוא'. We do not follow our own understanding, like the non-Jewish courts. We follow Hashem’s law and leave Him to work out anything that is unfair. And He always does…”

A Temporary Remedy

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, recounted that once a certain gadol hador encountered a student who had been very diligent in the past but had fallen from his former good habits. The gadol rebuked him gently, “My esteemed pupil, it is true that you now have many children and can no longer learn like you once did. But why not at least learn one daf a day or a chapter of mishnayos like the rest of the baal habatim in your community?”
“I am used to learning ten daf a day in ten hours,” the former masmid explained. “When I am able to make the time I will go back to this. But what is one daf or a chapter of mishnayos for someone like me?”
The gadol tried to dispel his former student’s error with a parable. “Once, a certain person was very ill and after extensive treatment the doctor warned him that he must not go to the bathhouse for a full year since the heat and humidity could kill him. After a few months the sick man’s desire to go to the bathhouse overcame his natural caution and he went despite the doctor’s orders. While he was there he started to fall ill from overheating just like the doctor had warned and he realized that he must cool himself off immediately. He recalled that there was a cooler mikveh in one part of the bathhouse and he rushed to it, only to find the gate locked. But when someone noticed he was not well he immediately rushed outside and brought back a bucket of water from outside, with which he sprinkled this man’s heart and head to somewhat revive him. This sick man would surely never think to refuse this little bit of water because he really needs to immerse in the pool of cooler water. He needs whatever he can get and hopes it will be enough to revive him. The same is true with you. If you can’t learn with diligence, at the very least you should learn a daf a day since this will give you some relief in the next world. Every daf gemara or mishnah will be a great source of joy in the ultimate future!”

The Benefit of the Doubt

Once there was an informer who was a thorn in the side of his community. One day, a peddler ran into him while bearing a load of eggs. The informer hinted that he expected free goods, but the seller made clear his demand for payment. Infuriated, the moser smashed all the eggs and left the seller covered in filth. The peddler went straight to the rav of the town, who sent his reluctant shamash to summon the moser to a din Torah. When the shamash arrived at the informer’s house, he was thrown out. The rav forced his shamash to return, this time with a threat that if he did not appear he would be excommunicated. The moser beat the poor shamash and threw him out.
On Shabbos, they called the moser to the Torah as usual, but when he approached the bimah the rav shouted, “Rasha! How dare you refuse to come to a din Torah?” The moser blanched and retreated, muttering threats. Several days later, the rav left to officiate at a bris in the next town with two students. On the road, the group noticed the moser following them on horseback. All the while, the rav was deep in thought. When the moser finally dismounted, the talmidim were baffled by his behavior.
In a choked and teary voice, he asked the rav, “Rebbi, may I thrash your talmidim?”
“Chalilah,” answered the rav.
“Can’t I at least give them a good slap in the face?” begged the moser.
“Don't touch them,” was the rav’s reply.
“Won’t you at least allow me to spit on them to teach them a lesson?” he pleaded.
“No,” the rav responded immediately.
The moser then broke down, “Rebbi, please forgive me for all the pain I caused you.”
“Pay for the eggs and appease the peddler and I will forgive you,” said the Rav.
The man acquiesced and turned back, and the group continued on their journey. One of the students asked the rav, “What happened here?”
The rav answered, “When I saw he intended us harm, I davened for help. Then I remembered an important principle: people reflect the feelings that we have toward them. Since I had hated his wickedness, he hated me in return. But when I started looking for his zechuyos, his attitude toward me changed. As he approached I thought, ‘Surely he absorbed evil from a bad environment and lacked for good examples. And perhaps he had really intended to pay for the eggs and was angry that the seller assumed he meant to take them by force. Maybe he was hurt because I summoned him like a criminal instead of setting a date as is proper? And he did not respond when I shamed him publicly; perhaps all his sins were forgiven!’ I am sure that on his end he also began to consider me in a better light. From moment to moment our hearts were drawn closer until he stood before me full of love in place of anger.”
The student asked, “If so, why did he wish to hurt the two of us?”
“Because you were thinking, ‘The wicked moser has come to kill our rav.’ He naturally felt the same hatred toward you. He really wanted to thrash you!”

“Loving and Pursuing Peace”

Rav Zelig Braverman, zt”l, learned together with a certain man who had very bad eyesight. One day, the chavrusah opened up his heart and told his tale of woe to Rav Braverman. “I have a very difficult time at home. My wife insists that I help her with the housework, but because of my poor eyesight this is impossible. She really needs the help however, and won’t take no for an answer. When she sees that I have not done what she requested she insults me terribly—it literally breaks my heart. I don’t know how to change the state of affairs. Please help me!”
A few days later, the chavrusah arrived in a much happier state of mind. “Rav Zelig, you must be davening up a storm. Today, my wife did not insult me at all. On the contrary, it appears as though she no longer has any complaints and my shalom bayis has returned.”
But the nearsighted man did not understand just how hard Rav Zelig had worked to restore their happiness. Rav Zelig had been observing their movements and had found that when the husband went to daven, the wife went out to shop. The moment he realized this he let himself into their home and got to work. During their absence Rav Zelig washed the dishes and did the floors—the very jobs the wife had demanded her husband do.
When the woman of the house came home, she figured that her husband must have done his chores after all, and the husband thought that she had seen how hard it was for him and had taken care of the tasks herself. Naturally, each admired the other for this sacrifice and peace reigned once again.
When Rav Shalom Shwadron, zt”l, told this story he remarked, “It is astounding to what lengths the gedolim would go to ensure that there would be peace in Jewish households. They were truly students of Aharon Hakohein who was 'אוהב שלום ורדף שלום'—he not only loved peace, he pursued it!”

The Importance of Fine Distinctions

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, once explained the importance of learning the laws of money to our avodas Hashem. “Our sages teach that if a guarantor obligates himself orally, he is required to repay the debt if the debtor cannot. Although this should by rights be asmachtah and therefore not binding, the pleasure that he receives when the lender gives the borrower a loan based on his word causes him to obligate himself.
“This seems to be the opposite of what simple logic would dictate, and is another example of, ‘He who wishes to become wise should learn the laws of money.’ Through learning the fine distinctions between different monetary cases, one is able to live like a good Jew, since the foundation of being a good Jew is the ability to act on fine distinctions. This is because the difference between light and darkness—and between living like a Jew and like a non-Jew— is merely a hairsbreadth.
He continued, “Fine distinctions are necessary for attaining and maintaining a proper worldview in our times. Although idolatry is practically extinct nowadays, a discerning person will understand that our challenge is whether we attribute the good in our lives to Hashem or to natural causes. For example, does a person who was ill and was healed by doctors understand that Hashem healed him? Or does he attribute his recovery to natural causes alone? Although we live in a physical world and our deliverance comes to us in the guise of the natural order, we must not be fooled. If one is completely focused on the natural world, how is he different from the idolaters in the time of Enosh? The Rambam tells us that they believed that Hashem was the ultimate source but felt that their deliverance came from an idol and not from Hashem. The same is true of money. Those who are preoccupied with the natural means of earning money and never give Hashem a thought worship gold and silver instead of Hashem. It is only through the clear discernment that comes from Torah study that a person can avoid such fallacies and truly worship Hashem.
Rav Shlomo Zalman concluded, “Hashem should help us see that the entire expanse of creation is a vehicle for the revelation of Hashem. As the verse states, ‘The earth will be filled with knowledge of Hashem as water covers the bed of the sea.’”

The Needs of Orphans

Rav Bentzion Yadler, zt”l, founded the pioneering Beis Yaakov HaYashan in Yerushalayim. Although today it is a well established school with hundreds of students, when he was first starting out, he had few students and money was very tight. Understandably, he went to any address he could to procure much needed funds for his fledgling institution, but even with all of his efforts, he only managed to eke out the minimum expenses to prevent the school from closing.
When Rav Yadler approached Rav Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin, zt”l, the head of the well established Diskin Orphanage, he was astounded to receive not only encouragement, but a large donation from the coffers of the orphanage.
Rav Yadler could not stop himself from blurting out, “It is true that every penny makes a big difference, but how can I possibly accept this generous donation? Do our sages not teach that one may not take money from orphans even for mitzvos?”
Rav Diskin immediately reassured Rav Yadler. “This donation is for the orphans, since if there are no suitable schools for girls, how will I find then brides with yiras shamayim?”
Rav Diskin then told a story about his father, Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, zt”l. “My father would take this much further. It was his practice to hire avreichim to go from apartment to apartment checking people’s mezuzos. When I asked him how he justified this he explained that regarding mezuzah the verse states, 'למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם'. Since good mezuzos lengthens the life spans of parents, making sure mezuzos are valid is an excellent way to ensure that there are less orphans and therefore more money for each individual orphan!”

“I Hated and Abhor Falsehood...”

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, was exceedingly careful that his every word or action should never appear false in even the slightest degree. Many times a day, he was heard to repeat to himself the verse from Tehillim: "שקר שנאתי ואתעבה"—“I hated and abhor falsehood.” We can see to what degree Rav Shlomo Zalman fled from untruth from a conversation that he had with a student. The student asked him a question which the Rav did not comprehend, and the Rav used the usual Hebrew equivalent of “I’m sorry” which is, "אני מצטער"—“I am pained.” Rav Shlomo Zalman at first said, “אני מצטער that I did not understand what you are asking.” But then he immediately corrected himself. “סליחה, excuse me. I am not truly pained, but nevertheless I did not understand your question...”
Chazal tell us that eating olives causes one to forget his learning, but since they also say that olive oil is conducive to remembering, the prevalent custom is to put oil on the olives and eat them that way. When Rav Shlomo Zalman saw in one of Rav Chaim Kanievksy’s many seforim that olive oil does not mitigate the ill effects of olives on memory, he stopped eating olives.
However, when he was close to the end of his life and Rav Shlomo Zalman had a difficult time eating most foods, he decided to go back to eating olives with olive oil since they were one of the few foods that still agreed with him. Rav Shlomo Zalman immediately sent a message to Rav Kanievsky, ילט"א, informing him of this change. The moment Rav Shlomo Zalman stopped acting in accordance with this chumrah, it was abhorrent to him that Rav Chaim Kanievsky should believe that he still did.

Food Under the Bed and Sundry

Someone asked Rav Moshe Sternbuch, Shlita, “If some food was left under a plane seat while a person slept in it, does the food have the same problem as food that was left under a bed?”
Rav Sternbuch replied, “The Nachalas Avos cites the opinion of his father’s uncle, the Vilna Gaon, zt”l: ‘Even food left beneath a sofa or a box that was later slept upon should not be eaten since we are more stringent with things that are dangerous than halachic prohibitions. Even though we see that one who eats this doesn’t seem to be damaged in any way, Chazal were not necessarily discussing danger to the body only, but predominately that which could impact the nefesh. For this reason, everyone should be exceedingly careful to wash mayim achronim even though we don’t find in today’s day and age the ‘salt of Sodom’ that can cause physical blindness.’
Rav Sternbuch continued, “I therefore rule that food left under an airplane seat which was then slept on is permitted. It is even possible that the Gaon would permit this, since he only prohibited food left beneath an object on which one sleeps in the usual fashion and not on a chair where one cannot really stretch out.”

Avoiding Anger

The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, zt”l, would conduct his tisch with a great deal of fervor. After learning with diligence the entire day as usual he would devote every ounce of his remaining strength to the tisch that would last for hours. By the time he reached the door of his house, he was depleted. After one tisch, he got home but the man in charge of bringing the key to the house was late. It was winter, and freezing rain showered down as the Rebbe and his companion waited. Throughout the downpour, he told the following inspiring story:
“Rav Raphael of Barshad, zt”l, yearned to wear a tallis katan woven of the high-quality wool raised in Eretz Yisrael. After a long period of toil, he finally obtained enough wool to use as a tallis katan. He was overjoyed with his good fortune and he immediately gave the wool to one of his chassidim to sew him a proper tallis katan. Unfortunately, the chassid folded the garment a second time before cutting the hole for Rav Raphael’s head. The result was two large holes, which rendered the garment absolutely unfit for use.
The chassid was very afraid to show this to his rebbe, but what choice did he have? When he finally got up the courage to explain his error, Rav Raphael was obviously pained, but he responded in a very surprising manner. “Why does Raphael require two holes in his tallis katan? One for his head and the second so that Raphael should not get angry!”

The Greatness of Israel

The Sefer Habris, zt”l, explains the greatness of living in Eretz Yisrael. “We find in Bava Basra 158 that the very atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael imparts wisdom. Any person who is pure of heart and who has any option to immigrate will surely wish to move to Eretz Yisrael. I have never understood the wealthy among us who have the means but don’t bother to ascend to the land on which ‘the eyes of Hashem are at all times.’ How can they be so foolish? Surely if anyone who moved to Eretz Yisrael was granted a large sum of money they would have moved long ago. It is surely fitting for any person who is able to run to the land, just like a young child races to his mother’s lap with great longing and joy. The Jewish nation is only called an am echad when we are on our land. This is clear from the verse, 'עשיתי אותם עם אחד בארץ בהרי ישראל'—‘I have made them one nation in the land, in the hills of Yisrael.’
But what should one do if he truly cannot immigrate to Eretz Yisrael? He must visit, of course. Since even treading four cubits in the land with the intention of accepting its unique holiness affords one a portion to the world to come, surely one visit impart wisdom as well.
Once, when the Imrei Emes, zt”l, visited Eretz Yisrael, He met Rav Kook, zt”l. When Rav Kook asked him if he could feel the wisdom imparted by the holy land entering into him, the Rebbe responded with characteristic sharpness. “Don’t our sages teach that 'סייג לחכמה שתיקה'— ‘silence is a protective fence for wisdom’?”

Chizuk for Dangerous Times

A certain Gerrer chassid was serving in the Israeli army during wartime and was often in situations of mortal danger, so he went to asked his Rebbe, the Beis Yisroel, zt”l, for some badly needed chizuk. The Beis Yisroel, zt”l, encouraged him with the words of our sages: “The Mishnah brings the verse that discusses our battle with Amalek and says that when Moshe raised his hands, the Jewish people were victorious. It goes on to ask rhetorically, can the hands of Moshe bring victory or defeat in battle? It answers that the verse is meant to teach us that when the Jewish people looked up and subdued their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they would triumph but when they faltered, they would suffer losses.
Similarly, we see that Moshe Rabbeinu was told to forge a copper serpent and place it on a banner so that the Jewish people could gaze at it and recover from their wounds. The Mishnah again asks the same basic question: does a copper snake on a banner have the power to give life or take it away? Once again, we are taught the same lesson: when they looked at the copper snake on the banner, they would subdue their hearts to their Father in Heaven and be healed. If not, they would die.”
The Rebbe concluded, “We see from this that when one directs his heart to his Father in heaven, he need not fear even snakes and scorpions! Even when you are in the middle of a battlefield, any place of danger, if you place your trust in Hashem, direct your hope to Him, and wait for His salvation, nothing can harm you!”

Spirit of the Law: Tu B'Shvat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

White Instead of Black

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

The Joy of Torah

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

Rav Zusha's Method of Learning Talmud

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

Cruelty to Animals

Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein, shlit”a, once gave a very inspiring talk on the prohibition to cause pain even to animals. “The verse in Nitzavim adjures us to cleave to Hashem—ולדבקה בו. Chazal explain that although one cannot literally cleave to Hashem, we can emulate His attributes. Just as He is merciful and gracious, so should we emulate His ways. It is very simple to determine whether a person truly emulates Hashem: just observe his actions. How does he treat animals, for example?
“This topic in general is a very important one. Very often, one finds that when children go to the zoo, they delight in pestering the animals. They throw objects into the cages, and sometimes even throw stones at the hapless creatures to see how they will react. Of course such actions scare the animals and cause them pain. Strangely, their parents often do not rebuke them for violating the prohibition of tzar balei chaim, and we can only conclude that this sin is not known to many.
“The Sefer Chasidim point out that a person will be brought to judgment for any needless pain he caused to animals. Even overloading an animal and striking it when it cannot walk on account of being overburdened will be cause for judgment. In addition, those who pull the ears of cats to hear their cries of pain are sinners.
The verse states, ‘וביום ההוא נאום ה' מכה כל סוס בתמהון ורוכבו בשגעון’—‘This is the promise of Hashem: On that day, anyone who strikes a horse will be struck with confusion, and who rides it will be struck with madness.’ Our sages teach on this verse that Hashem will collect payment from riders of horses who kicked their horses needlessly.
“Instead, we should use the time at the zoo to point out to our children the wonders of creation. Each animal or bird is designed exactly as he should be in order to survive in his environment. Some have scales, others fly while others have a protective house on their backs. There is no end to the lessons and wonder one can extract from focusing on the animals in the right way with the proper guidance.”

How to Empathize

During his last years, the Tchebiner Rav lived in Shaarei Chessed. At that time, there was a certain very broken, lonely man who would collect tzedakah in the neighborhood shuls. This person was well known—if not well liked—by all on account of his bizarre dress and strange behavior. He had his own unusual way to sing יהללו when the Torah was being replaced into the aron kodesh. Since his voice was cracked and he could not hold a tune, this was very annoying to the other people in shul. Nevertheless, if there was a chosson, he would always belt out his tune, often accompanied by bored children who immediately flocked to him and did their utmost to “help him along.”
Once, when this man was collecting in the Tchebiner Rav’s minyan, the Tchebiner Rav gave him a princely donation before they had replaced the Torah into the ark. “I am not giving you this merely s a gift,” he proclaimed. “I give this to you on condition that you make the minyan happy with your unique tune for יהללו.”
The man was thrilled to his core and began to sing his special tune. But this time, since the Rav had asked for it, everyone joined him and it was actually a fitting way to replace the Torah. The broken man was overjoyed at his triumph and would tell everyone he knew about the admiration that the Tchebiner Rav had for him. Not only had he given him a big sum of money, he had even asked for his special nigun!

The Characteristic of a Fool…

The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, would often take people to task for not devoting enough time to learning. Whenever he would notice an expensive and unnecessary ornament gracing a former student’s home, he would bemoan, “I don’t see a carpet, or drapes, or what have you. I see pages and pages of Gemara!”
He once offered a novel explanation of the importance of making full use of every moment for study. “The Gemara says in Chagigah 4a that one of the characteristics of a fool is that he habitually loses that which he is given. The halacha follows the Tosefta that Rav Papa cites, that one who always loses that which he is given is a fool.
The Chofetz Chaim then cried out, “There is nothing more precious than time! You can’t buy more for all the money in the world! In the course of a single minute, one can say two hundred words. Each word is a mitzvah in itself. How can one waste the time for the purchase of luxuries? Even worse, how can one be such a fool as to let it slip away through simple carelessness?”
Of course, there are other lessons that can be learned from this Gemara. A certain “chossid shoteh” once came to the Maggid of Kozhnitz, zt”l, and asked for a segulah to help him find an object that he had lost. The man had foolishly left his belonging unattended in a public place, and it was almost certainly stolen because of his irresponsibility. Even so, the man exhibited no awareness that he had caused his own trouble and still sought the item.
The Maggid said with some asperity, “Go home and say ‘Eizehu’ three times. That is your segulah.”
Without a second thought, the man went home and recited Eizehu Mekoman three times with painstaking kavanah, but nothing happened. His lost object failed to materialize.
He returned to the Maggid with a complaint. “I recited Eizehu three times just as you said, but nothing came of it. I still haven’t found my aveidah!”
The Maggid answered curtly, “I didn’t mean Eizehu in Zevachim. I meant in Chagigah! Eizehu shoteh hameabed mah shenosnim lo!”

The Joy of Mitzvos

Rav Avraham Vaknin, zt”l, of Yerushalayim recounted the reaction of a simple poor Yerushalmi when the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah came his way.
This poor man was once walking through the streets bowed down with a heavy heart due to his many debts. The time for payment had arrived and he lacked the wherewithal to repay. As he shambled along, he suddenly noticed an expensive gold necklace on the ground. He immediately rejoiced at his good fortune. Although he lacked for money, he was overjoyed because Hashem had sent him such a precious mitzvah. He immediately set up several signs in the vicinity where the chain had been found and bided his time.
He waited one week, then a second, and even a month or two with no response. When six months had elapsed most people ignored the now tattered signs, but the finder ensured that they remained up, just in case.
Fully a year later, the owner of the necklace—who lived outside of Yerushalayim—found himself in the neighborhood again and ran into the signs. He immediately recalled his lost necklace and went to the address listed on the signs. The finder asked for simanim, which the owner immediately gave. The finder excused himself and had a look to verify that the necklace had all the simanim, and was thrilled when he saw that it did. After verifying that the owner was not in a rush, he begged him to wait a very short time and immediately ran out of the house.
After a minute or two passed people began to enter the house. When the eighth person entered the house, the baal habayis returned to join them and the owner of the necklace and begged the impromptu minyan to wash for a seudas mitzvah. He quickly set up a bare meal of bread and something to go with it and they all washed.
After everyone had eaten the baal habayis explained, “This is a seudas mitzvah, since I have the great opportunity to fulfill the Torah commandment of hashavas aveidah!”
After a long and heartfelt l’shem yichud, the finder returned the lost object with joy so profound it left a deep impression on all those present.

The Beams of One's House...

In Israel, many families choose to forgo an elaborate wedding so that they can invest in an apartment for their children who are about to marry instead. This ensures that the young couple will be able to stay afloat financially since most couples try to stay in learning for at least a few years after marriage. Experience proves that a kollel check cannot possibly support the family and pay rent too. Even those who do have an apartment of their own often just manage to cover minimal expenses.
Once the Imrei Emes, zt”l, had a short exchange with a new chosson to see how he was adjusting to married life and to spur him on to take a moral inventory.
“How is your learning going?” the Rebbe asked.
“Good, Boruch Hashem.”
“And how do you like your new neighborhood?” the Rebbe querried.
“Excellent,” the young man answered.
“And are you pleased with your new apartment?” the Rebbe probed.
“Very!”
“And how is your new apartment pleased with you?” mused the Imrei Emes.
“What does the Rebbe mean?” the young man wondered.
The Rebbe explained, “In Chagigah 16a we learn that the stones and beams of one’s house bear witness against him on the day of judgment!”
We find a similar incident with Rav Naftali Nosson Nata, zt”l, the Av Beis Din of Hosikov. When he knew that someone was acting in a way that did not become him, the Gaon would say, “It says in the verse: Nachpisa darkeinu v’nachkorah... Although this literally means that we should search out our ways and investigate them, it is possible to understand the word v’nachkorah as the conjunction of two small words. V’nach korah—and the beam (of the house) will be serene. In Chagigah 16a we find that the beams of ones house bear witness against him. So the verse can mean that if we will only search out our ways and change, the beam of the house will be able to relax and refrain from submitting incriminating evidence to the heavenly court!”

Self-Sacrifice for Shabbos

A certain person once decided to emigrate to America from Poland. Since he lived near the Chofetz Chaim it was only natural for him to seek a blessing from the tzaddik before embarking on his journey. The great sage agreed to bless his endeavor on one condition: “You must promise never to violate the sanctity of Shabbos, and to seal it with a handshake.”
The man readily agreed and received the tzaddik’s effusive brochah.
He traveled to Baltimore and quickly found a job washing windows. After an extended period working in the company, his boss suddenly insisted that he begin to come in on Shabbos. The immigrant would not hear of this and refused. Predictably, his employer fired him on the spot.
The next week the man began searching for a job but found nothing. After a month of fruitless seeking, things started getting tight financially. When three months had passed without work, his situation was hardly bearable. After several months had transpired, the man was virtually starving.
One Shabbos after shul he decided to give in and work on Shabbos. After all, their destitution constituted a serious question of pikuach nefesh for himself and his wife and children.
He decided that he would approach his old boss and ask for his old job back on whatever terms were offered. But as he walked to his old place of employment he suddenly recalled that he had promised the Chofetz Chaim that he would not work on Shabbos no matter what.
He realized that although his family had much less food then they required, they would not literally starve and he was therefore obligated to keep Shabbos. He turned around and went home to his dismal Shabbos table.
That very night, his boss came to his door with another man. “Six months ago I told this gentleman that you would sacrifice to keep the Shabbos no matter what it took. He doubted this and we wagered to give you six months with no employment to see who was right. Today was the last day and I won the bet.”
His boss took a wad of bills out of his pocket and said, “Here is your full salary for the last six months. And of course you are welcome back to your job starting tomorrow!”

Go to the Wise Man

Unfortunately, most are familiar with the distress caused by illness hitting a member of the family. One man whose son suddenly became very sick was beside himself since the doctors said that the child’s condition was ominous. After doing what he could at the hospital, the father rushed to his rebbi, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, for advice and to plead with him to daven for the helpless child. Rav Shlomo Zalman encouraged the father and heaped blessings upon his head. The moment he left, the rav took a sefer Tehillim off the shelf and began to daven in earnest.
The next day the father once again approached Rav Shlomo Zalman but this time he looked much happier. “Boruch Hashem, the doctors say there has been a marked improvement and I just wanted to thank you for davening. I came to tell you since I am sure it was your prayers that made all the difference and caused this remarkable improvement.”
Rav Shlomo Zalman smiled back at the happy father and remarked, “Our sages tell us that if someone has a sick person among the people of his household, he should go to the ‘chochom’ and ask that he beseech Hashem to have mercy on the sufferer.
“The language here seems strange. Why not direct someone to go to a tzaddik? Why a chochom? I once heard a tongue-in-cheek answer from Rav Eliyahu Kletzkin from Lublin. He explained that if a person goes to a tzaddik and the sick man recovers, the tzaddik could mistakenly think he is a baal mofes. For this reason it adjures one to go to a chocham. A wise man understands that this from Hashem and will not think of himself as a baal mofes!”

A Surprise Visit

The love that Rav Meir Shapiro of Lublin, zt”l, demonstrated for his many students was remarkable. One time, a bochur in Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin fell ill. When the Rosh Yeshiva noticed that he was not in the beis midrash he immediately inquired as to his whereabouts, and when he heard the young man was ill he rushed to his bedside.
But when he entered the room he saw something quite shocking. Although he had heard that the young man had a mild fever and was feeling chilled this had not prepared him for what he saw. The student was literally trembling as if in fear or shock.
Of course, Rav Meir immediately calmed the young man and explained that he had nothing to worry about since he was suffering from only a mild ailment. He reassured him that he had simply come to visit and give the sick young man chizuk.
When the young man calmed down and began to smile, Rav Meir asked why he had been so terrified when he had first seen him enter the room.
The bochur answered, “I come form Lita and in most yeshivos the Rosh Yeshiva never visits a student who has merely taken ill. They only visit if the student is in very serious condition which is likely to be terminal. That’s why when the Rosh Yeshiva came in I was so shocked. I thought that my condition must be much more serious that I had originally understood. I thought that everyone must be hiding from me that my time had come!”
Rav Meir replied in his usually loving way. “The difference in approaches is easy to understand. In our yeshiva every student is like a son to me. Obviously, any father who hears that his son is ill rushes to his bedside even if he knows it’s nothing serious. He must visit to check his condition and encourage his sickly child, to help him recover!”

For Heaven’s Sake!

Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, would warn his beloved students, “At the very least, don’t make yourselves out to be acting l’shem shomayim!”
He would explain, “A person who turns a blind spot to his natural ulterior motives and thinks he acts only for the sake of heaven is a terrible hazard to himself and others. If things do not go according to his plan, he naturally feels angry. After all, he is certain that his every movement is one hundred percent for the sake of heaven, so why isn’t Hashem allowing his altruistic plans to come to fruition? It is equally obvious to this person that anyone who is an impediment to his plans for whatever reason is in the wrong and may be crushed or pushed aside in any form he can get away with!”
Rav Yisrael would use this principle to explain the Mishnah in Avos in his uniquely pithy manner. “The sages taught, ‘Any conflict that is l’shem shomayim—סופה להתקיים—it is destined to exist in perpetuity.’—Talk about a thing that is sure to last forever!”
He explained this will a very direct parable. “Let’s say two competing shopkeepers are in a fight. Each one blames the other for stealing his customers. Even if they fight the whole year round, when erev Yom Kippur comes, they will surely regret their petty squabble and wish to make up. It is more than likely that one merchant will enter his friend’s shop and say something like, ‘Listen, Reb Chaim. Today is erev Yom Kippur. Let’s drink a l’chaim and forgive each other!’
“But if they fight ‘l’shem shomayim,’ will they make up erev Yom Kippur? Absolutely not! On the contrary, on erev Yom Kippur each will feel that he has the license to pursue his friend mercilessly. After all, each one already knows that he is completely l’shem shomayim. Keeping up the fight with his friend is nothing less than a mitzvah!”