Prayers for Men: Shalom Charles ben Gracia, Yosef ben Esther, Daniel ben Rivka, Moshe ben Briendel, Avrum ben Fagel, Ephraim ben Mazel,
B”H
Moshe ben Bella, has gotten well enough to be removed from the prayer list.
Good things happen too.
Women:
Karen Neshama bas Esther Ruth, Chaya Melecha Rachel bas Baila Alta, Rachel Shoshana
bas Chana, Hodaya Nirit bas Mazel Yaish, Rivka bas Idit, Tsvia Simcha bas
Devorah Yachad, Miriam bas Irene Taita Malka,
Shulamis bas Etta, Chana Friedel bas Sara, Esther bas Alice, Drorah Rivka bas
Chana, Penina Bas
Zeisa Preeya,
The
following persons are recovering from long term non-threatening injuries and
need Psalms. Binum Benyamin Tuvia ben Chana Friedel, Avraham HaCohain ben
Yocheved, Melech David ben Sulah Pearla, Golda Shulamis bas Celia,
Shabbos Tisha B’Av I brought down the
Halachos a few weeks ago with links. Even though one may eat meat and we
observe Shabbos all day long, it is preferable to read the Divrei Torah in the
morning as the Torah learning brings joy and in the afternoon read the
newspaper even if one usually does the reverse and the news is usually
something more sobering and saddening. From a past translation of mine from HaRav
Aharon Alder Shlita by myself on HaRav Yosef Soloveichik second article. http://www.parsha.net/pdf/Devarim/Devarim-9Av66.pdf
Parsha Devarim
Translated
as these words but Devarim also means things. Two hundred things
or Mitzvos are about to be taught in a short time. It could be that they were
already taught and not written down previously. Moshe is putting his last will
in order with 37 intensive days of Mussar and Halacha.
1:1 These are the words which
Moses spoke unto all Israel beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness, in the
Arabah, over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth,
and Di-zahav.
Di-zahav is literally ‘enough
gold’ and a hint of the golden calf. In modern times the place is located
slightly south of Eilat but may have been anywhere close to Har Sinai as the
Egel was made there when Moshe was on the mountain.
Kadesh Barnea is not far from
Har Seir which is close to Aqaba in Yarden. Kadesh is on the Egyptian Border
not far from modern Rafiah.
3 And it came to pass in the
fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses
spoke unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given
him in commandment unto them;
This is how I deduce 37 days
as it would be the modern Chodesh Shevat and Moshe passed away on the 7th
of Adar.
4 after he had smitten Sihon
the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who
dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei; 5 beyond the Jordan, in the
land of Moab, took Moses upon him to expound this law, saying:
After 40 years in the desert
as free men, the older soldiers were under 20 at the time of Yitzias Mitzrayim.
They were now free for 40 years the others from about 45 plus would remember
the miracles but not so much recall being slaves and those under 40 all were
born free men. The army had been tried with Sihon, Og and Midian and was ready
for the conquest of Eretz Canaan.
6 The LORD our God spoke unto
us in Horev, saying: 'Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain; 7 turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the
Amorites and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the Arabah, in the
hill-country, and in the Lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore; the
land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river
Euphrates.
Except for a brief period
during the reign of Shlomo, the Bnei Yisrael did not have land unto the
Euphrates. Essentially Eretz Yisrael is supposed to be half or most of the
Sinai Peninsula, modern Lebanon, Yisrael parts of Yarden and Syria. This is
reserved for the future.
8 Behold, I have set the land
before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after
them.' 9 And I spoke unto you at that time, saying: 'I am
not able to bear you myself alone; 10 the LORD your God hath
multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for
multitude.-- 11 The LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a
thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as He hath promised
you!-- 12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and
your burden, and your strife? …15 So I took the heads of your
tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains
of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains
of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe. 16 And I charged your judges at
that time, saying: 'Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge
righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
The judges were set up. At
first for ten people well learned Yeshiva students, then young Rabbis for 50
and finally for 100 and 1000 higher educated Rabbis and Dayanim.
17 Ye shall not respect persons
in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be
afraid of the face of any man; for the judgment is God's; and the cause that is
too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.'
The dispute was to be solved
at the highest level before it reached Moshe Rabbaynu.
… 21 Behold, the LORD thy God hath
set the land before thee; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of thy
fathers, hath spoken unto thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.' 22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said: 'Let us send men
before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us back word of the
way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall come.' 23 And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man
for every tribe;
It sounded to me a good idea
to spy out the land. Learning the routes and places for an attack and the
weakness and strengths of cities.
24 and they turned and went up
into the mountains, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it
down unto us, and brought us back word, and said: 'Good is the land which the
LORD our God giveth unto us.'
The report was the land was
good but the people chose to hear the things about the fortifications. The
mistake was that this was not a secret spy report but a public commission and
that is what ruined the message.
26 Yet ye would not go up, but
rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God; 27 and ye murmured in your
tents, and said: 'Because the LORD hated us, He hath brought us forth out of
the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt,
saying: The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and
fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim
there.'
The former slaves were fearful
cowards basically and not used to freedom this new generation that had not
really tasted slavery would be used to freedom and a trained military
organization. This section is a good Mussar Rebuke by Moshe.
29 Then I said unto you: 'Dread
not, neither be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God who goes
before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in
Egypt before your eyes; 31 and in the wilderness, where
thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son,
in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place. 32 Yet in this thing ye do not believe the LORD your God,
Despite the splitting of the
sea and the defeat of Mitzrayim with the overturning and drowning of 600
chariots, you did not believe. You heard the L-RD from Sinai and did not
believe.
33 Who went before you in the
way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show
you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.'
Despite seeing the miracles
and eating the Mann, you did not believe.
34 And the LORD heard the voice
of your words, and was wroth, and swore, saying: 35 'Surely there shall not one
of these men, even this evil generation, see the good land, which I swore to
give unto your fathers, 36 save Caleb the son of Yephunneh,
he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and
to his children; because he hath wholly followed the LORD.'
They were the only two who
trusted in HASHEM and told the truth about Eretz Yisrael.
37 Also the LORD was angry with
me for your sakes, saying: Thou also shalt not go in thither; 38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before thee, he shall go in thither;
encourage thou him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your
children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in
thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
38 years of growing up and the
young that were alive at that time are middle-aged warriors and not cowardly
slaves.
40 But as for you, turn you, and
take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.' 41 Then ye answered and said unto me: 'We have sinned against the LORD, we
will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us.' And
ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and deemed it a light thing to go up
into the hill-country. 42 And the LORD said unto me:
'Say unto them: Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be
smitten before your enemies.' 43 So I spoke unto you, and ye
hearkened not; but ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and were
presumptuous, and went up into the hill-country.
First you went against the
L-RD by not going up and then the reverse going into battle without the help of
G-D.
44 And the Amorites, that dwell
in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and
beat you down in Seir, even unto Hormah. 45 And ye returned and wept
before the LORD; but the LORD hearkened not to your voice, nor gave ear unto you.
46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode
there.
|
Those from Ephraim that rebelled and went up,
were handily defeated. Still the Mussar warning to the people. Everything
here and in Chapter 2 is historical Mussar lessons.
2: 1 Then we turned, and took our journey
into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke unto me; and
we compassed mount Seir many days. 2
And the LORD spoke unto me, saying: 3
'Ye have compassed this mountain long enough; turn you northward. 4 And command thou the people,
saying: Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of
Esau, that dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you; take ye good heed
unto yourselves therefore; 5
contend not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much
as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given mount Seir unto
Esau for a possession. 6 Ye
shall purchase food of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy
water of them for money, that ye may drink. 7 For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the work of thy
hand; He hath known thy walking through this great wilderness; these forty
years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.' 8 So we passed by from our brethren
the children of Esau, that dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah, from
Elath and from Ezion-geber. …13
Now rise up, and get you over the brook Zered.' And we went over the brook
Zered. 14 And the days in
which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered,
were thirty and eight years; until all the generation, even the men of war,
were consumed from the midst of the camp, as the LORD swore unto them.
Now their generation is gone and you
have taken over.
… 24
Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of Arnon; behold, I
have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land;
begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. 25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear
of thee upon the peoples that are under the whole heaven, who, when they hear
the report of thee, shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.' 26 And I sent messengers out of the
wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace,
saying: 27 'Let me pass
through thy land; I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn unto
the right hand nor to the left. 28
Thou shalt sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for
money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on my feet; 29 as the children of Esau that
dwell in Seir, and the Moabites that dwell in Ar, did unto me; until I shall
pass over the Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.'
We did not want war with Sihon but he
came after us to protect Yisrael from us.
30
But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for the LORD thy God
hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him
into thy hand, as appears this day.
And G-D made it clear as day that he would fall into
the hands of the Bnei Yisrael
31
And the LORD said unto me: 'Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his
land before thee; begin to possess his land.' 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, unto
battle at Jahaz. 33 And the
LORD our God delivered him up before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and
all his people. 34 And we took
all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every city, the men, and
the women, and the little ones; we left none remaining; 35 only the cattle we took for a
prey unto ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge
of the valley of Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, even unto
Gilead, there was not a city too high for us: the LORD our God delivered up
all before us. 37 Only to the
land of the children of Ammon thou came not near; all the side of the river
Jabbok, and the cities of the hill-country, and wheresoever the LORD our God
forbade us.
This is part of the pep talk to believe
in and fear G-D and not battles with men. We now repeat the swift defeat of
the tall and powerful king Og and the population of the kingdom of Sihon on
the plains of the Golan Heights that are wonderful grazing land.
|
3:1 Then we turned, and went up
the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all
his people, unto battle at Edrei. 2 And the LORD said unto me: 'Fear him not; for I
have delivered him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou
shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at
Heshbon.' 3 So the LORD our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of
Bashan, and all his people; and we smote him until none was left to him
remaining. 4 And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we
took not from them; threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of
Og in Bashan. 5 All these were fortified cities, with high walls, gates, and bars;
beside the unwalled towns a great many. 6 And we utterly destroyed
them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city, the
men, and the women, and the little ones. 7 But all the cattle, and the
spoil of the cities, we took for a prey unto ourselves. 8 And we took the land at that
time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the
Jordan, from the valley of Arnon unto mount Hermon—
The division of the 2.5 tribes
are mention and the Parsha is not to fear the enemy but to fear the L-RD.
…21 And I commanded Joshua at
that time, saying: 'Thine eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done
unto these two kings; so shall the LORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou
go over. 22 Ye shall not fear them; for the LORD your God, He it is that fights for
you.'
Note next week I hope to have an editorial on the
murders in the USA 7 dead and 50 shot in Chicago, between El Paso and Dayton
murders another 31 murdered.
‘Rabbi’ Avraham Lukas z”l sent me this about Anger Management. In
the days before Tisha B’Av our joy is down it is not time to listen to music or
watch entertainment except perhaps Animal Planet, National Geographic, The
History Channel or Discovery which are educational in nature. No music, heat
outside, kids off from school, something goes wrong, our temper is on edge. We
then have to think of the law of the Garbage Truck:
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We
were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a
parking space right in front of us!! My taxi driver slammed on his brakes,
skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!! The driver of the other car
whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy... I mean, he
was really friendly.
So I asked, "Hey, why did you just do that??!! This guy
almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!!" This is when my taxi
driver taught me what I now call: "The Law of the Garbage Truck."
He said: "You know, many people are like garbage trucks.
They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full
of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it, so sometimes
they will dump it on you."
His advice? "Do not take it personally… Just smile, wave,
wish them well, and move on. Do not pick up the garbage others are trying to
get rid of. If you do, you will take it with you and you will end up dumping it
on people all around you, at work, at home, or on the streets." If you
want to be happy.... do not let garbage trucks, your own or other peoples,
overtake your day. Let go of anything that is not positive.
Life is 10% what you make and 90% how you take it! Love the
people who treat you right, pray for the ones who do not.
Now for three Matis Wolfberg stories: He used to bring down a
Chassid or other tale weekly until ultra-Charedi bullies came against people
using the internet. Danny Shoemann too used to bring down weekly Halacha and I
used them for years among my own stories and those of others. I despite
censorship except from filth that an author should control himself.
Good Shabbos Everyone. We open our discussion of this week's
Torah portion Pinchas,
with a brief review of a topic we have discussed in recent weeks. We are
referring to the power of our righteous Torah leaders to uplift us spiritually.
In our portion this week, the Torah tells us how Hashem commands Moshe to count the Jews. When commanding Moshe to count the Jews, the Torah uses the word "Seh-oo." (Bamidbar 26:2) The word "Seh-oo," can also mean "to uplift." As in the verse in Psalms "Lift your hands in the sanctuary and bless Hashem." (Tehillim 134:2) In order to learn a spiritually uplifting message from this parsha, let us try to understand the verse in the following way: Hashem is giving Moshe Rabeinu (our teacher) the power to uplift the Jews. As the verse states in the parsha: "Uplift the entire assembly of the Children of Yisroel..." (26:2)
Since the time of Moshe Rabeinu, Hashem has appointed in every generation Tzadikim (the exceedingly righteous Rabbis) to lead Klal Yisroel. Just as Hashem gave Moshe Rabeinu the power to uplift the Bnai Yisroel, so too does Hashem give the spiritual leaders of every generation the power to uplift Jews.
The following amazing true story demonstrates the tremendous power of our Torah leaders to elevate us. A very successful businessman, a Chabad Chassid by the name of Rabbi Chaim Gutnick who lived in Sydney Australia, was invited by the small Jewish community of "Adalide" to serve as their Cantor for the High Holy Days. Rabbi Gutnick was in a dilemma.
True, he had a pleasant voice, but he also had four small children at home, and had no desire of becoming a Rabbi or a Cantor. "They have a few months, let them find someone else." He thought to himself. Two weeks later he was surprised to see in his mailbox a letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, addressed to him.
The Rebbe wrote that he was disappointed to hear that Rabbi Gutnick refused the Adalide community. The Rebbe advised him to accept the offer, and not to forget the Egyptian Jews there.
(The community in Adalide got Rabbi Gutnick's name from the head Rabbi of Sydney, who also advised them to write the Lubavitch Rebbe if Rabbi Gutnick refused.) Needless to say, he took the job.
When he arrived in Adalide the morning before Rosh Hashanah, the first thing he did after getting settled in, was to go the Synagogue to meet everyone and get acquainted with the place.
After everyone had left, he sat down in the back of the quiet Synagogue, opened a Torah book and began learning. No one was in the building except him and the caretaker. A perfect preparation for Rosh HaShanah. About two hours later he heard the door open, and turned to see a middle-aged woman entering. She approached, apologized for the intrusion, and explained that although she herself was not Jewish, there was a Jewish girl outside who wants to know were the holiest place is in the Synagogue?
He pointed to the Ark in the front of the room, she thanked him, went outside, and returned seconds later escorting a blind girl of about fifteen years old.
She led her silently down the aisle toward the Ark, and when they reached the front of the room, the girl fell to her knees put her head in her hands and began weeping.
"Please G-d, send me a sign. Please, send me a sign. If you are there, and you hear me, send a sign!!"
After a few minutes she stood up, dried her eyes on her dress sleeve, and was escorted by her companion back out of the Synagogue.
Rabbi Gutnick was frozen from the incident. The room seemed a hundred times more silent than before, until the caretaker happened to enter.
"Oh, it must be one of those Egyptian Jews" he said to Rabbi Gutnick after he heard the story. "Nothing to get excited about. A small group of them arrived a while ago, but they don't seem to want to have anything to do with us. No big loss if you ask me. We tried to be friendly but they just keep to themselves."
Suddenly the Rebbe’s words flashed in his mind "Egyptian Jews". He ran outside to see if she was still there, but there was no trace.
The next evening Rabbi Gutnick led the Rosh Hashanah services, and after they were finished, the Synagogue president requested of him that they stand by the door and bless everyone as they exited. The only people that didn't file past, were a group that sat silently in the back corner waiting for everyone, including the Rabbis to leave.
"Oh, those are the Egyptian Jews," whispered the president when he noticed how Rabbi Gutnick was staring. "If I were you, I'd forget about them. Let's go."
The next day, after the morning prayers, Rabbi Gutnick didn’t wait for them to come to him. He walked over to where they were sitting, shook their hands and happily wished them all a happy and holy New Year. "And please wish the blind girl a good new year from me also."
Seven days later, the evening before Yom Kippur, the phone rang in Rabbi Gutnick’s hotel room.
"Hello, are you the Rabbi?" said the voice on the other end, "I am the blind girl. I want to...." suddenly the phone was cut off.
When she didn't call back he phoned the president, somehow he got her name, address, and phone number and Rabbi Gutnick called her back."Yes?" A man answered, "Who is it please?"
"Hello, this is Rabbi Gutnick and...." As soon as he said his name, the phone hung up.
So he decided to take things into his own hands. Although it was already late in the evening, he called a taxi, and a half hour later he was knocking at the blind girl's door.
When it opened he put his foot in, and insisted that they let him enter saying that he took a taxi, and had an important message for them. And it worked! They invited him in, and they all sat down together in the front room.
When Rabbi Gutnick explained what had happened, and how the Lubavitcher Rebbe told him to visit the Egyptian Jews in Adeline, they were stunned speechless; they had never heard of this Rabbi, how could he have heard of them? And who were they that he should even think about them?
But the girl began weeping and whispering, "This is my sign! Thank you G-d!"
After several minutes, her mother, with tears welling up in her eyes, broke the silence and told the following story.
"We fled from Egypt about a year ago, and almost as soon as we arrived in Australia, my husband and I found work here in Adalide. The only problem was finding a school for Betty. You see she is blind, and the only school we could find for her in this area is run by priests.
"At first it wasn't so bad" her father continued. "Tuition was low, Betty was making good progress, and...well Rabbi, we are almost not observant at all, so we really didn't care, as long as she was learning."
"But then things changed,” her mother continued. "They began suggesting, and then demanding, that she change her religion and become a Catholic."
"I'm a Jew", Betty said with tears streaming from her colorless eyes, "And something inside me says it's wrong to stop being a Jew. I don’t even know what a Jew is! But I'll never stop being a Jew, even if they kill me."
"Then one day they said that she should stop coming to school," her mother continued. "And if she wanted to be so stubborn she shouldn't come back."
"That's when my parents started pressuring me" whimpered Betty. "They said that I had to do what the priests wanted. And that’s when I really got confused."
"But what can we do?" Said her weeping mother.
"You can't just sit around in the house!!" said her father "Of course we don't want you to stop being Jewish!! But we aren't so religious anyway and it's for your own good! For your own good!”
"So one day last week when my parents were at work" Betty continued, "I asked the neighbor, and she took me to the Synagogue. I just had to pray to G-d to send me a sign what I should do."
"Then, the miracle happened! A few days later, my relatives told me that you asked about me in the Synagogue after the New Year's prayers. They were all laughing about it, but I was so excited I could hardly move. And then, believe me, it was not easy to get your phone number and call you."
At that point even Rabbi Gutnick was not succeeding in holding back his tears.
He dried his eyes, picked up the phone and called the president again. "You must come now to the blind girl's home, we have to get her connected with Yiddishkeit!"
"What!!?? It’s twelve midnight!!" Shouted the president over the phone. "Listen Rabbi Gutnick. You're a good Cantor, but I'm not coming to talk to anyone at twelve midnight, I'm already in my pajamas!!"
"So come in your pajamas," he answered. "You can come any way you want, but if you aren't here soon, you can find a replacement for Yom Kippur."
A half hour later he arrived in the girl's house, and in no time they had a list of ten telephone numbers to call after the Holiday, to set her up with a complete Jewish education. The story had a happy ending; the president found a place for Betty, and her relatives strengthened both their Judaism and connection to the community. The next time that Rabbi Gutnick was in "Yechidus" (private audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe) The Rebbe told him, "That "sign" was for you also! It's a sign that you should leave the business world, and devote yourself completely to becoming a Rabbi!" Good Shabbos Everyone.
In our portion this week, the Torah tells us how Hashem commands Moshe to count the Jews. When commanding Moshe to count the Jews, the Torah uses the word "Seh-oo." (Bamidbar 26:2) The word "Seh-oo," can also mean "to uplift." As in the verse in Psalms "Lift your hands in the sanctuary and bless Hashem." (Tehillim 134:2) In order to learn a spiritually uplifting message from this parsha, let us try to understand the verse in the following way: Hashem is giving Moshe Rabeinu (our teacher) the power to uplift the Jews. As the verse states in the parsha: "Uplift the entire assembly of the Children of Yisroel..." (26:2)
Since the time of Moshe Rabeinu, Hashem has appointed in every generation Tzadikim (the exceedingly righteous Rabbis) to lead Klal Yisroel. Just as Hashem gave Moshe Rabeinu the power to uplift the Bnai Yisroel, so too does Hashem give the spiritual leaders of every generation the power to uplift Jews.
The following amazing true story demonstrates the tremendous power of our Torah leaders to elevate us. A very successful businessman, a Chabad Chassid by the name of Rabbi Chaim Gutnick who lived in Sydney Australia, was invited by the small Jewish community of "Adalide" to serve as their Cantor for the High Holy Days. Rabbi Gutnick was in a dilemma.
True, he had a pleasant voice, but he also had four small children at home, and had no desire of becoming a Rabbi or a Cantor. "They have a few months, let them find someone else." He thought to himself. Two weeks later he was surprised to see in his mailbox a letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, addressed to him.
The Rebbe wrote that he was disappointed to hear that Rabbi Gutnick refused the Adalide community. The Rebbe advised him to accept the offer, and not to forget the Egyptian Jews there.
(The community in Adalide got Rabbi Gutnick's name from the head Rabbi of Sydney, who also advised them to write the Lubavitch Rebbe if Rabbi Gutnick refused.) Needless to say, he took the job.
When he arrived in Adalide the morning before Rosh Hashanah, the first thing he did after getting settled in, was to go the Synagogue to meet everyone and get acquainted with the place.
After everyone had left, he sat down in the back of the quiet Synagogue, opened a Torah book and began learning. No one was in the building except him and the caretaker. A perfect preparation for Rosh HaShanah. About two hours later he heard the door open, and turned to see a middle-aged woman entering. She approached, apologized for the intrusion, and explained that although she herself was not Jewish, there was a Jewish girl outside who wants to know were the holiest place is in the Synagogue?
He pointed to the Ark in the front of the room, she thanked him, went outside, and returned seconds later escorting a blind girl of about fifteen years old.
She led her silently down the aisle toward the Ark, and when they reached the front of the room, the girl fell to her knees put her head in her hands and began weeping.
"Please G-d, send me a sign. Please, send me a sign. If you are there, and you hear me, send a sign!!"
After a few minutes she stood up, dried her eyes on her dress sleeve, and was escorted by her companion back out of the Synagogue.
Rabbi Gutnick was frozen from the incident. The room seemed a hundred times more silent than before, until the caretaker happened to enter.
"Oh, it must be one of those Egyptian Jews" he said to Rabbi Gutnick after he heard the story. "Nothing to get excited about. A small group of them arrived a while ago, but they don't seem to want to have anything to do with us. No big loss if you ask me. We tried to be friendly but they just keep to themselves."
Suddenly the Rebbe’s words flashed in his mind "Egyptian Jews". He ran outside to see if she was still there, but there was no trace.
The next evening Rabbi Gutnick led the Rosh Hashanah services, and after they were finished, the Synagogue president requested of him that they stand by the door and bless everyone as they exited. The only people that didn't file past, were a group that sat silently in the back corner waiting for everyone, including the Rabbis to leave.
"Oh, those are the Egyptian Jews," whispered the president when he noticed how Rabbi Gutnick was staring. "If I were you, I'd forget about them. Let's go."
The next day, after the morning prayers, Rabbi Gutnick didn’t wait for them to come to him. He walked over to where they were sitting, shook their hands and happily wished them all a happy and holy New Year. "And please wish the blind girl a good new year from me also."
Seven days later, the evening before Yom Kippur, the phone rang in Rabbi Gutnick’s hotel room.
"Hello, are you the Rabbi?" said the voice on the other end, "I am the blind girl. I want to...." suddenly the phone was cut off.
When she didn't call back he phoned the president, somehow he got her name, address, and phone number and Rabbi Gutnick called her back."Yes?" A man answered, "Who is it please?"
"Hello, this is Rabbi Gutnick and...." As soon as he said his name, the phone hung up.
So he decided to take things into his own hands. Although it was already late in the evening, he called a taxi, and a half hour later he was knocking at the blind girl's door.
When it opened he put his foot in, and insisted that they let him enter saying that he took a taxi, and had an important message for them. And it worked! They invited him in, and they all sat down together in the front room.
When Rabbi Gutnick explained what had happened, and how the Lubavitcher Rebbe told him to visit the Egyptian Jews in Adeline, they were stunned speechless; they had never heard of this Rabbi, how could he have heard of them? And who were they that he should even think about them?
But the girl began weeping and whispering, "This is my sign! Thank you G-d!"
After several minutes, her mother, with tears welling up in her eyes, broke the silence and told the following story.
"We fled from Egypt about a year ago, and almost as soon as we arrived in Australia, my husband and I found work here in Adalide. The only problem was finding a school for Betty. You see she is blind, and the only school we could find for her in this area is run by priests.
"At first it wasn't so bad" her father continued. "Tuition was low, Betty was making good progress, and...well Rabbi, we are almost not observant at all, so we really didn't care, as long as she was learning."
"But then things changed,” her mother continued. "They began suggesting, and then demanding, that she change her religion and become a Catholic."
"I'm a Jew", Betty said with tears streaming from her colorless eyes, "And something inside me says it's wrong to stop being a Jew. I don’t even know what a Jew is! But I'll never stop being a Jew, even if they kill me."
"Then one day they said that she should stop coming to school," her mother continued. "And if she wanted to be so stubborn she shouldn't come back."
"That's when my parents started pressuring me" whimpered Betty. "They said that I had to do what the priests wanted. And that’s when I really got confused."
"But what can we do?" Said her weeping mother.
"You can't just sit around in the house!!" said her father "Of course we don't want you to stop being Jewish!! But we aren't so religious anyway and it's for your own good! For your own good!”
"So one day last week when my parents were at work" Betty continued, "I asked the neighbor, and she took me to the Synagogue. I just had to pray to G-d to send me a sign what I should do."
"Then, the miracle happened! A few days later, my relatives told me that you asked about me in the Synagogue after the New Year's prayers. They were all laughing about it, but I was so excited I could hardly move. And then, believe me, it was not easy to get your phone number and call you."
At that point even Rabbi Gutnick was not succeeding in holding back his tears.
He dried his eyes, picked up the phone and called the president again. "You must come now to the blind girl's home, we have to get her connected with Yiddishkeit!"
"What!!?? It’s twelve midnight!!" Shouted the president over the phone. "Listen Rabbi Gutnick. You're a good Cantor, but I'm not coming to talk to anyone at twelve midnight, I'm already in my pajamas!!"
"So come in your pajamas," he answered. "You can come any way you want, but if you aren't here soon, you can find a replacement for Yom Kippur."
A half hour later he arrived in the girl's house, and in no time they had a list of ten telephone numbers to call after the Holiday, to set her up with a complete Jewish education. The story had a happy ending; the president found a place for Betty, and her relatives strengthened both their Judaism and connection to the community. The next time that Rabbi Gutnick was in "Yechidus" (private audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe) The Rebbe told him, "That "sign" was for you also! It's a sign that you should leave the business world, and devote yourself completely to becoming a Rabbi!" Good Shabbos Everyone.
Good Shabbos Everyone. In the second part of this week's double
portion Mato-Masei, the Torah details the journeys of the Bnai Yisroel
(Children of Yisroel) as they traveled through the desert. Why is it so
important for the the Torah to describe in such great detail the wanderings of
the Jewish people? The commentator the Maor Eynayim explains that there is a
reason for every place that we must go in life. Namely, we must go to that
specific place to elevate the sparks of holiness, which lay there, waiting to
be elevated. We elevate the sparks of holiness in that place, by making
blessings over food and by doing mitzvahs in that place.
One Jew who makes it his business to travel around the world to elevate the holiness of people and places, is Rav Dovid Ordman, a senior lecturer for the organization "Arachim." Rav Ordman goes from Eretz Yisroel to distant Jewish communities such as Bangkok, South Africa, Los Angeles and Brazil, where he inspires Jews with little or no background in Judaism. Throughout the years, Rav Ordman has both heard and witnessed amazing stories. The following story is one such story which Rav Ordman heard in his travels.
Rabbi Ordman's most amazing story of all is the story of Dr. Barry Brand. Dr. Brand was a Jew who had intermarried. He knew absolutely nothing about Judaism.
One evening, he was on duty in the emergency room in a Los Angeles hospital. Suddenly they brought in a stretcher. On the stretcher lay a fellow, who seemed dead to all appearances. Apparently, the man had been walking on the street when he was suddenly struck down by a massive heart attack.
The crew attempted to revive him, but to no avail. Unfortunately, the man was D.O.A. - dead on arrival. Dr. Brand was left alone with the body as the other doctors and nurses filed out of the room. He had already removed his gloves and was about to leave.
Then suddenly, he realized that the dead man was trembling. Dr. Brand's protective mask was still in place, so he began to perform CPR once again. Mistakes do happen, after all...
Suddenly the fellow pulled off the doctor's protective mask and whispered something unintelligible. The doctor asked, "What did you say?"
The fellow repeated, "Are you Meir Chaim?" Dr. Brand was floored. No one other than himself knew his Jewish name. It had never been used once since his bris.
In complete surprise he answered, as he continued pumping the fellow's chest, "Yes, I am Meir Chaim."
The anonymous fellow asked, "Do you keep kosher?" "No," the doctor said.
"Then keep kosher. Do you lay tefillin?" came the next question.
"No, I don't," said the doctor.
"Then start!" Said the man before his head rolled back and he died - this time forever.
When Rabbi Ordman met Dr. Brand, it was clear he was not a person who suffered from hallucinations. Further investigation proved that he was a rationalist in the fullest sense of the word.
When Dr. Brand retold the story, he repeated that he did not know anything about the patient. As a matter of fact, the deceased was never identified.
Dr. Brand first made his way to an Arachim Seminar two years later, after his marriage fell apart. Only then did he remember the strange story and decide to do something about it. As we read these words, Dr. Brand is climbing higher and higher in spirituality.
It is difficult to read this story without becoming motivated to want to lead a more Torah- observant lifestyle. We may not see it, but there is an infinite spiritual world which exists around us. Let us be inspired by this amazing true story to tap into the spiritual world by increasing our Torah observance. Good Shabbos Everyone.
One Jew who makes it his business to travel around the world to elevate the holiness of people and places, is Rav Dovid Ordman, a senior lecturer for the organization "Arachim." Rav Ordman goes from Eretz Yisroel to distant Jewish communities such as Bangkok, South Africa, Los Angeles and Brazil, where he inspires Jews with little or no background in Judaism. Throughout the years, Rav Ordman has both heard and witnessed amazing stories. The following story is one such story which Rav Ordman heard in his travels.
Rabbi Ordman's most amazing story of all is the story of Dr. Barry Brand. Dr. Brand was a Jew who had intermarried. He knew absolutely nothing about Judaism.
One evening, he was on duty in the emergency room in a Los Angeles hospital. Suddenly they brought in a stretcher. On the stretcher lay a fellow, who seemed dead to all appearances. Apparently, the man had been walking on the street when he was suddenly struck down by a massive heart attack.
The crew attempted to revive him, but to no avail. Unfortunately, the man was D.O.A. - dead on arrival. Dr. Brand was left alone with the body as the other doctors and nurses filed out of the room. He had already removed his gloves and was about to leave.
Then suddenly, he realized that the dead man was trembling. Dr. Brand's protective mask was still in place, so he began to perform CPR once again. Mistakes do happen, after all...
Suddenly the fellow pulled off the doctor's protective mask and whispered something unintelligible. The doctor asked, "What did you say?"
The fellow repeated, "Are you Meir Chaim?" Dr. Brand was floored. No one other than himself knew his Jewish name. It had never been used once since his bris.
In complete surprise he answered, as he continued pumping the fellow's chest, "Yes, I am Meir Chaim."
The anonymous fellow asked, "Do you keep kosher?" "No," the doctor said.
"Then keep kosher. Do you lay tefillin?" came the next question.
"No, I don't," said the doctor.
"Then start!" Said the man before his head rolled back and he died - this time forever.
When Rabbi Ordman met Dr. Brand, it was clear he was not a person who suffered from hallucinations. Further investigation proved that he was a rationalist in the fullest sense of the word.
When Dr. Brand retold the story, he repeated that he did not know anything about the patient. As a matter of fact, the deceased was never identified.
Dr. Brand first made his way to an Arachim Seminar two years later, after his marriage fell apart. Only then did he remember the strange story and decide to do something about it. As we read these words, Dr. Brand is climbing higher and higher in spirituality.
It is difficult to read this story without becoming motivated to want to lead a more Torah- observant lifestyle. We may not see it, but there is an infinite spiritual world which exists around us. Let us be inspired by this amazing true story to tap into the spiritual world by increasing our Torah observance. Good Shabbos Everyone.
Good Shabbos Everyone. Tisha B'Av which falls out this year on
Monday night to Tuesday night, commemorates the destruction of the second Beis
HaMikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago. In a certain
sense, Tisha B'Av has become a national day of mourning for the Jewish People.
Many tragedies have befallen the Jewish people on this sad day. For example,
the expulsion edict from Spain and the formation of the "Final
Solution" which brought about the Holocaust and the virtual destruction of
European Jewry.
One of the more famous survivors of the Holocaust was the Bobover Rav Reb Shlomo Halberstam, whose tenth yohrzeit just passed. The Bobover Rebbe was one of the greatest Chassidic Rebbes and Torah leaders of recent memory. On December 31, 1973 at a grandchild's engagement celebration, the Bobover Rav told the following amazing story of how he and his son Reb Naftuli Tzvi, of blessed memory, survived Nazi persecution during the tough times of the second world war.
"It would be impossible to retell in one night the entire miraculous story - with all its myriad details - of how we were saved. But perhaps, in honor of this simchah, the engagement of my son Harav Naftultche's (Naftuli's) daughter, it would be fitting to show gratitude to the One Above and to publicize just one aspect of our miraculous salvation.
It was the late spring-early summer of 1943. We were smuggled across countless borders throughout our ordeal — from Lemberg to Bochnia, from Poland to Czechoslovakia, from Czechoslovakia to Hungary, from Hungary to Romania... And it wasn't just crossing the border in the middle of the night. We had to swim through streams of water - all at the risk of being showered with bullets by the border guards. On seeing the flare of gunfire from the border patrol, who could have dreamed at the time that we would survive, build families and eventually many off our children? Therefore, out of gratitude to Hashem, I will share one ordeal that I experienced with my son, who was a bachur of twelve at that time.
We fled disguised as gentiles, so at first glance we would not be caught. We had hired non-Jewish agents to smuggle us across the border. With us was my mother; my grandmother, the Limonover Rebbetzin; and other family members. Obviously, we traveled in separate wagons so that they wouldn't realize we were from one family. Since I was dressed like a gentile, I hoped it would be difficult for our enemies to discern my Jewish identity. Nevertheless, my heart was pounding as we rode along with our smugglers toward Neimark, where other smugglers were waiting for us.
We arrived at the border on Friday afternoon. I had in my possession gentile identification papers, as well as Hungarian citizenship papers. I kept my Hungarian papers well hidden, and I had some money with me as well just in case I would need to grease some pockets. We were standing there at the border Plashow and a number of officers were guard there. They could not distinguish me as a Jew but they seemed to notice that Naftulche had Jewish features.
Since many Jews were giving away their children to gentiles at that time, the guards surmised that I was a gentile who was smuggling out a Jewish child. They pointed in Naftulche's direction and hissed, "Mali Zhidak (little Jew)." Then they ran off to summon a higher-ranking officer. The officer asked to see my papers and as he scrutinized them, I anxiously watched the people all around me board the train. I knew that if I missed the train and didn't cross the border that night, all would be lost. So I turned to the officer and said in Polish, "I'm not coming with you! I have to catch the train!"
The officer insisted, "You're coming with me." I mustered the gumption to answer, "Come board the train with me and I'll show you everything there because I have to catch the train!"
I had in my possession a forged letter from the head of Bochnia's Gestapo, authorizing me to travel. The handwriting, the signature and the SS insignia were all forged, but I took the chance and showed it to the officer. "Herr officer," I told him, "I have to go now." Then I took out a thousand zlotys and handed it to him.
When I saw that he was still hesitating, I added another five hundred and said to him, "Here's 1,500 zlotys — now let me go. You saw my papers already." This time it worked. Satisfied with his small fortune, he left me alone and I boarded the train. We arrived in Neimark Friday afternoon.
Packed into my rucksack were manuscripts from my grandfather, the Djikover Rebbe, Harav Moshe Pshevorsker's tefillin, and the Sanzer Ray's walking stick. I guarded these items carefully, hoping they wouldn't be confiscated at the border, But Hashem had His plans.
Suddenly, a raid was conducted by Gestapo officers and we were token off the train. I knew that my mother and the rest of the family were in other cars, so I looked around to see if they too had been removed from the train. But I didn't see them and didn't know where they were. They handcuffed us and led us to the Gestapo office. There was such a tumult among the officers.
"We caught Zhidsl" they kept shouting. We heard civilian gentiles telling each other, "You'll see, tomorrow they'll be hanged and we'll come and watch..." We were taken to the head of the local Gestapo — Kenzhar was his name. When he saw us, he started screaming, "Accursed Jews, you wanted to sneak across the border, didn't you?" He demanded to see our papers, and I took out the document with the Bochnia Gestapo chiefs signature verifying my Hungarian citizenship. He seemed surprised when he saw the paper and then left the room, leaving us with his Polish subordinate.
The Pole turned to me and said in Polish, "Within twenty-four hours you'll be behind bars. Listen to my piece of advice: just confess. Last week a Jew by the name of Rosenwasser was caught with the same type of forged documents from Bochnia. He was brutally tortured until he confessed. What they want to know from you is only the name of the person who wanted to take you across the border.
"Look," the Pole continued in a friendly tone of voice, "you'll be treated to a bullet in any case. But why suffer the additional torment? At the end you'll confess anyway under the whip, so do it before they torture you."
We were stripped of our clothing, and our money and all our belongings were confiscated. We were told that soon my son would be separated from me. When he heard this, twelve-year-old Naftuli went over to the Polish commissar and said to him in Polish," I beg of you. let me stay with my father."
One of the more famous survivors of the Holocaust was the Bobover Rav Reb Shlomo Halberstam, whose tenth yohrzeit just passed. The Bobover Rebbe was one of the greatest Chassidic Rebbes and Torah leaders of recent memory. On December 31, 1973 at a grandchild's engagement celebration, the Bobover Rav told the following amazing story of how he and his son Reb Naftuli Tzvi, of blessed memory, survived Nazi persecution during the tough times of the second world war.
"It would be impossible to retell in one night the entire miraculous story - with all its myriad details - of how we were saved. But perhaps, in honor of this simchah, the engagement of my son Harav Naftultche's (Naftuli's) daughter, it would be fitting to show gratitude to the One Above and to publicize just one aspect of our miraculous salvation.
It was the late spring-early summer of 1943. We were smuggled across countless borders throughout our ordeal — from Lemberg to Bochnia, from Poland to Czechoslovakia, from Czechoslovakia to Hungary, from Hungary to Romania... And it wasn't just crossing the border in the middle of the night. We had to swim through streams of water - all at the risk of being showered with bullets by the border guards. On seeing the flare of gunfire from the border patrol, who could have dreamed at the time that we would survive, build families and eventually many off our children? Therefore, out of gratitude to Hashem, I will share one ordeal that I experienced with my son, who was a bachur of twelve at that time.
We fled disguised as gentiles, so at first glance we would not be caught. We had hired non-Jewish agents to smuggle us across the border. With us was my mother; my grandmother, the Limonover Rebbetzin; and other family members. Obviously, we traveled in separate wagons so that they wouldn't realize we were from one family. Since I was dressed like a gentile, I hoped it would be difficult for our enemies to discern my Jewish identity. Nevertheless, my heart was pounding as we rode along with our smugglers toward Neimark, where other smugglers were waiting for us.
We arrived at the border on Friday afternoon. I had in my possession gentile identification papers, as well as Hungarian citizenship papers. I kept my Hungarian papers well hidden, and I had some money with me as well just in case I would need to grease some pockets. We were standing there at the border Plashow and a number of officers were guard there. They could not distinguish me as a Jew but they seemed to notice that Naftulche had Jewish features.
Since many Jews were giving away their children to gentiles at that time, the guards surmised that I was a gentile who was smuggling out a Jewish child. They pointed in Naftulche's direction and hissed, "Mali Zhidak (little Jew)." Then they ran off to summon a higher-ranking officer. The officer asked to see my papers and as he scrutinized them, I anxiously watched the people all around me board the train. I knew that if I missed the train and didn't cross the border that night, all would be lost. So I turned to the officer and said in Polish, "I'm not coming with you! I have to catch the train!"
The officer insisted, "You're coming with me." I mustered the gumption to answer, "Come board the train with me and I'll show you everything there because I have to catch the train!"
I had in my possession a forged letter from the head of Bochnia's Gestapo, authorizing me to travel. The handwriting, the signature and the SS insignia were all forged, but I took the chance and showed it to the officer. "Herr officer," I told him, "I have to go now." Then I took out a thousand zlotys and handed it to him.
When I saw that he was still hesitating, I added another five hundred and said to him, "Here's 1,500 zlotys — now let me go. You saw my papers already." This time it worked. Satisfied with his small fortune, he left me alone and I boarded the train. We arrived in Neimark Friday afternoon.
Packed into my rucksack were manuscripts from my grandfather, the Djikover Rebbe, Harav Moshe Pshevorsker's tefillin, and the Sanzer Ray's walking stick. I guarded these items carefully, hoping they wouldn't be confiscated at the border, But Hashem had His plans.
Suddenly, a raid was conducted by Gestapo officers and we were token off the train. I knew that my mother and the rest of the family were in other cars, so I looked around to see if they too had been removed from the train. But I didn't see them and didn't know where they were. They handcuffed us and led us to the Gestapo office. There was such a tumult among the officers.
"We caught Zhidsl" they kept shouting. We heard civilian gentiles telling each other, "You'll see, tomorrow they'll be hanged and we'll come and watch..." We were taken to the head of the local Gestapo — Kenzhar was his name. When he saw us, he started screaming, "Accursed Jews, you wanted to sneak across the border, didn't you?" He demanded to see our papers, and I took out the document with the Bochnia Gestapo chiefs signature verifying my Hungarian citizenship. He seemed surprised when he saw the paper and then left the room, leaving us with his Polish subordinate.
The Pole turned to me and said in Polish, "Within twenty-four hours you'll be behind bars. Listen to my piece of advice: just confess. Last week a Jew by the name of Rosenwasser was caught with the same type of forged documents from Bochnia. He was brutally tortured until he confessed. What they want to know from you is only the name of the person who wanted to take you across the border.
"Look," the Pole continued in a friendly tone of voice, "you'll be treated to a bullet in any case. But why suffer the additional torment? At the end you'll confess anyway under the whip, so do it before they torture you."
We were stripped of our clothing, and our money and all our belongings were confiscated. We were told that soon my son would be separated from me. When he heard this, twelve-year-old Naftuli went over to the Polish commissar and said to him in Polish," I beg of you. let me stay with my father."
At first he refused, but young Naftuli persisted. "Do you
have a son?" he asked. "What would happen if your son asked you for
something? Wouldn't you grant him his request? I am still a child. Have mercy
and let me stay with my father." Somehow his heart softened and he took us
both to the same prison cell.
It was Friday night and we knew it was the last night of our lives. Since my yarmulke had been taken away, I covered my head with a sheet and got ready to daven, I sat there thinking, "Master of the Universe, is it possible that I can leave this hell alive? And if I do stay alive, will I be able to appreciate the extent of the Hashem's chessed-kindness" According to all logic, we didn't stand a chance. It was Friday evening, so we downed Mincha and then sang Lecha Dodi. I don't know if I had ever sung such a sweet, stirring Lecha Dodi, because in my mind it was the last Lecha Dodi I would ever recite. I remember davening to Hashem and saying, "We are going to be korbanos (sacrifices), so accept the korban willingly and may it atone for all our sins..."
My heart went out to Naftulche, who was sitting next to me. "He's only twelve years old," 1 thought. "Does he know what's going to happen tomorrow?" I wanted to make Kiddush but on what? I found a small piece of bread in my pocket and deliberated over whether or not it was permissible to make Kiddush on a piece of bread. And if yes, then what would I use for lechem mishneh? (the double loaves traditionally used at Shabbos meals.)
Finally I decided that it was a matter of pikuach nefesh (saving a life); I felt that I just had to accept the holiness of Shabbos by reciting Kiddush. There was a basin in the room with a quart of water. We washed our hands, made Kiddush on the piece of bread, sang all the Bobover zemiros, and benched.
After the "seudah," I debated with myself about whether to talk to the boy about our impending fate. He had overheard the commissar say that we would be shot, so I decided to prepare him for it. I turned to Naftulche and said, "Naftulche, I ha
I have a request to make. Will you heed my request?" "Yes, father, I'll do as you say," he replied. "Listen, Naftulche," I said to my tender young son, "you should know that a Jewish soul cannot be shot. A Jew has a neshamah that comes from the Heavenly throne and a neshamah can't be shot. The body can be shot, but that is only the outer garment; our essence cannot be shot. Today, I'm your father and you're my son. Tomorrow we'll be two neshamos who were killed al kiddush Hashem. "I want to request something of you. You're a young child, they won't torture you. But me — according to what the Pole said, they're planning to torture me in order to get me to disclose the identity of our smuggler. But I'm not going to tell them. They'll beat me until the blood flows and we'll both cry out, 'Shema Yisrael Hasltem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!' We need to do it b'simcha, just like any other mitzvah, just like we do hakafos on Simchas Torah. I ask of you not to cry but to be b'simcha when we both say Shema."
As I was talking, Naftulche started to cry. "Why are you crying?" I asked him. "I won't be able to watch them torturing my father. I'll ask them to shoot me first."
Can anyone fathom the Creator's miraculous ways? The way our story ended was nothing short of an open miracle, We were up the whole night, and when we saw the sun's rays shining through a small slat, we washed our hands and davened the entire Shacharis of Shabbos. It was about nine o'clock when we heard a knock on the door. An officer walked in, holding a pistol in his hand, and told us to follow him. He led us into the Gestapo office, where the Polish commissar greeted us with uncharacteristic excitement.
"You are lucky!" he told us. "He woke up in a good mood today!" He was referring to the chief, but I didn't know what he was talking about. The Pole took us into his superior's room, and there sat the same man who had called us "accursed Jews" the day before. Now he spoke to us calmly. "You are indeed Hungarian citizens but still, it is illegal to come here without border passes. So you will have to be penalized for transgressing the law..."
As soon as I heard the word "penalized," I knew that we wouldn't be shot. In the end, the Gestapo chief bought us train tickets and sent us back to Bochnia along with a document to present to the border patrol stating that we owed a fine of one thousand zlotys for crossing the border illegally. I was stunned. How had things changed so drastically? First he had wanted to torture and kill me — and now he was sending me back to Bochnia!
When I arrived in Bochnia, I met a yungerman, Reb Yeshaya Veitzen (who himself was later killed by the Germans), and as soon as he saw me he cried out "Baruch matir assurim" (blessed is the one who frees the captives) I had left Bochnia under the most clandestine circumstances, but somehow he'd already heard that I'd been arrested. I tried to pretend I didn't know what he was talking about, but he answered, "We heard about everything that happened to you."
As soon as I learned what had transpired that Shabbos morning. At eight o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo chief in Neimark called up the Gestapo chief in Bochnia to find out if Solomon Halberstam was indeed a Hungarian citizen and if he'd been issued a travel permit. In truth, those papers had been forgeries, but through Divine Providence the German commander hadn't been in the office then.
A Bochnian Jew named Shlomo Shtruch, who owned a top-quality mattress factory, had close connections with Polish officers. On Shabbos morning at eight o'clock, Shlomo Shtruch was sitting in the Gestapo office talking to the Polish commissar — Kanarski was his name — when the phone rang. Shtruch overheard Kanarski say the name "Solomon Halberstam" as he was writing things down in his notebook. Shtruch inquired what the problem was with Solomon Halberstam.
"They caught him at the border and they're going to shoot him," said the commissar. Shtruch jumped up and shouted, "He's my Rabbiner, You can't let him be killed!"
The Polish commissar was impervious. "There's nothing I can do about it. He crossed the border illegally; he's going to be killed." Shtruch wouldn't give up. "Kanarski, you get lots and lots of money from me, and I know about all your activities. If you want ten thousand zlotys for Shlomo Halberstam, you'll have it in an instant. You must save Shlomo Halberstam!"
The Pole yelled back, "I'm not losing my life for him. They'll kill me instead!"
Shlomo Shtruch made no attempt to hide his anger. He said sternly, "Listen, Kanarski! You have committed so many crimes. You have shady dealings involving huge amounts of money. If Shlomo Halberstam lives, then you and I will live as well. But if he doesn't live, then you won't live and I won't live! I will go to the higher authorities and report everything I know about you. It's your choice. If you want to remain alive, then save Shlomo Halberstam!"
"What do you want from me?" the Pole shouted. "Call him back fast, before it's too late!" Shtruch demanded. "I'm going out to make sure the chief doesn't come in while you make the phone call"
The Pole picked up the phone and the chief in Neimark. "Yes, Shlomo Halberstam is a Hungarian citizen," he told him.
"So what should I do with him?" the Neimark chief asked. "Send him back to Bochnia." When I later heard about this chain of events, I was moved to tears mesirus nefesh that Shlomo Shtruch displayed on my behalf. The ways of Hashem are unfathomable. It was His will that we would survive and build a new generation. And so He orchestrated the incredible of events that led to our salvation."
The Jewish Nation is eternal. We have weathered persecution in just about every time and in every place. Jews and Jewish communities have been destroyed by the evil Nations. However, Hashem has promised us that the Jewish Nation, which stays faithful to the Torah, will prevail. Good Shabbos Everyone.
It was Friday night and we knew it was the last night of our lives. Since my yarmulke had been taken away, I covered my head with a sheet and got ready to daven, I sat there thinking, "Master of the Universe, is it possible that I can leave this hell alive? And if I do stay alive, will I be able to appreciate the extent of the Hashem's chessed-kindness" According to all logic, we didn't stand a chance. It was Friday evening, so we downed Mincha and then sang Lecha Dodi. I don't know if I had ever sung such a sweet, stirring Lecha Dodi, because in my mind it was the last Lecha Dodi I would ever recite. I remember davening to Hashem and saying, "We are going to be korbanos (sacrifices), so accept the korban willingly and may it atone for all our sins..."
My heart went out to Naftulche, who was sitting next to me. "He's only twelve years old," 1 thought. "Does he know what's going to happen tomorrow?" I wanted to make Kiddush but on what? I found a small piece of bread in my pocket and deliberated over whether or not it was permissible to make Kiddush on a piece of bread. And if yes, then what would I use for lechem mishneh? (the double loaves traditionally used at Shabbos meals.)
Finally I decided that it was a matter of pikuach nefesh (saving a life); I felt that I just had to accept the holiness of Shabbos by reciting Kiddush. There was a basin in the room with a quart of water. We washed our hands, made Kiddush on the piece of bread, sang all the Bobover zemiros, and benched.
After the "seudah," I debated with myself about whether to talk to the boy about our impending fate. He had overheard the commissar say that we would be shot, so I decided to prepare him for it. I turned to Naftulche and said, "Naftulche, I ha
I have a request to make. Will you heed my request?" "Yes, father, I'll do as you say," he replied. "Listen, Naftulche," I said to my tender young son, "you should know that a Jewish soul cannot be shot. A Jew has a neshamah that comes from the Heavenly throne and a neshamah can't be shot. The body can be shot, but that is only the outer garment; our essence cannot be shot. Today, I'm your father and you're my son. Tomorrow we'll be two neshamos who were killed al kiddush Hashem. "I want to request something of you. You're a young child, they won't torture you. But me — according to what the Pole said, they're planning to torture me in order to get me to disclose the identity of our smuggler. But I'm not going to tell them. They'll beat me until the blood flows and we'll both cry out, 'Shema Yisrael Hasltem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!' We need to do it b'simcha, just like any other mitzvah, just like we do hakafos on Simchas Torah. I ask of you not to cry but to be b'simcha when we both say Shema."
As I was talking, Naftulche started to cry. "Why are you crying?" I asked him. "I won't be able to watch them torturing my father. I'll ask them to shoot me first."
Can anyone fathom the Creator's miraculous ways? The way our story ended was nothing short of an open miracle, We were up the whole night, and when we saw the sun's rays shining through a small slat, we washed our hands and davened the entire Shacharis of Shabbos. It was about nine o'clock when we heard a knock on the door. An officer walked in, holding a pistol in his hand, and told us to follow him. He led us into the Gestapo office, where the Polish commissar greeted us with uncharacteristic excitement.
"You are lucky!" he told us. "He woke up in a good mood today!" He was referring to the chief, but I didn't know what he was talking about. The Pole took us into his superior's room, and there sat the same man who had called us "accursed Jews" the day before. Now he spoke to us calmly. "You are indeed Hungarian citizens but still, it is illegal to come here without border passes. So you will have to be penalized for transgressing the law..."
As soon as I heard the word "penalized," I knew that we wouldn't be shot. In the end, the Gestapo chief bought us train tickets and sent us back to Bochnia along with a document to present to the border patrol stating that we owed a fine of one thousand zlotys for crossing the border illegally. I was stunned. How had things changed so drastically? First he had wanted to torture and kill me — and now he was sending me back to Bochnia!
When I arrived in Bochnia, I met a yungerman, Reb Yeshaya Veitzen (who himself was later killed by the Germans), and as soon as he saw me he cried out "Baruch matir assurim" (blessed is the one who frees the captives) I had left Bochnia under the most clandestine circumstances, but somehow he'd already heard that I'd been arrested. I tried to pretend I didn't know what he was talking about, but he answered, "We heard about everything that happened to you."
As soon as I learned what had transpired that Shabbos morning. At eight o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo chief in Neimark called up the Gestapo chief in Bochnia to find out if Solomon Halberstam was indeed a Hungarian citizen and if he'd been issued a travel permit. In truth, those papers had been forgeries, but through Divine Providence the German commander hadn't been in the office then.
A Bochnian Jew named Shlomo Shtruch, who owned a top-quality mattress factory, had close connections with Polish officers. On Shabbos morning at eight o'clock, Shlomo Shtruch was sitting in the Gestapo office talking to the Polish commissar — Kanarski was his name — when the phone rang. Shtruch overheard Kanarski say the name "Solomon Halberstam" as he was writing things down in his notebook. Shtruch inquired what the problem was with Solomon Halberstam.
"They caught him at the border and they're going to shoot him," said the commissar. Shtruch jumped up and shouted, "He's my Rabbiner, You can't let him be killed!"
The Polish commissar was impervious. "There's nothing I can do about it. He crossed the border illegally; he's going to be killed." Shtruch wouldn't give up. "Kanarski, you get lots and lots of money from me, and I know about all your activities. If you want ten thousand zlotys for Shlomo Halberstam, you'll have it in an instant. You must save Shlomo Halberstam!"
The Pole yelled back, "I'm not losing my life for him. They'll kill me instead!"
Shlomo Shtruch made no attempt to hide his anger. He said sternly, "Listen, Kanarski! You have committed so many crimes. You have shady dealings involving huge amounts of money. If Shlomo Halberstam lives, then you and I will live as well. But if he doesn't live, then you won't live and I won't live! I will go to the higher authorities and report everything I know about you. It's your choice. If you want to remain alive, then save Shlomo Halberstam!"
"What do you want from me?" the Pole shouted. "Call him back fast, before it's too late!" Shtruch demanded. "I'm going out to make sure the chief doesn't come in while you make the phone call"
The Pole picked up the phone and the chief in Neimark. "Yes, Shlomo Halberstam is a Hungarian citizen," he told him.
"So what should I do with him?" the Neimark chief asked. "Send him back to Bochnia." When I later heard about this chain of events, I was moved to tears mesirus nefesh that Shlomo Shtruch displayed on my behalf. The ways of Hashem are unfathomable. It was His will that we would survive and build a new generation. And so He orchestrated the incredible of events that led to our salvation."
The Jewish Nation is eternal. We have weathered persecution in just about every time and in every place. Jews and Jewish communities have been destroyed by the evil Nations. However, Hashem has promised us that the Jewish Nation, which stays faithful to the Torah, will prevail. Good Shabbos Everyone.
M. Wolfberg’s stories are sponsored by: In Memory of Leah bas R' Dovid Edlen (Wolfberg) Refuah Shleima to Mordechai Menachem Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Tsviah bas Bracha Leah Refuah Shleimah to Chana Ashayra bas Dodi – this was from 5770 hopefully they have recovered!
Jonathan
Pollard opens up about wife’s cancer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267035
Esther
Pollard’s advanced cancer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267040
Settlement
homes approved. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5564867,00.html
Right
ahead in latest Poll. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267141
Inyanay Diyoma
US
lack of response has Saudis and UAE talking to Teheran. https://www.debka.com/saudis-and-uae-begin-quiet-talks-with-tehran-in-epic-gulf-somersault/
US
to test new missile. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5562735,00.html
Czech
Republic – cemetery vandalized. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266879
Opinion
survey voters lied. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266866
Shaked
tells Netanyahu talk directly to me. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266859
Bigot
opens fire on Hispanics with antisemitic manifesto. https://www.foxnews.com/us/el-paso-walmart-shooting-20-dead-26-injured-gov-greg-abbott-police-chief-greg-allen
Baltimore
drug crack-down guns galore. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/baltimore-90-charged-51-guns-1-million-cash-seized-violent-crime-trump-cummings
Israelis
warned to leave Kashmir. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266892
FL
Jews hit by Ponzi Scheme. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266881
Useful
idiots weekly riot from Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266873
10
shot at Dublin Bar in Dayton Ohio. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266901
Another
poll gives the right 54 seats w/o Lieberman. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266900
IDF’s
next generation combat vehicle with AI but human control. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266911
Mass
murder in Cairo. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266928
Israeli
Druze Diplomat decries screening. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266913
Boys
assaulted north of Toronto. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266929
Ron
Ben Yishai Gaza infiltration a wake-up call for the IDF. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5561884,00.html
Swastikas
painted on Miami truck. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266935
Mass
Baptism of Russian Jews stopped. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266908
Poll
as of Aug. 5: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266937
Iran
redeploys drones on the Golan. https://www.debka.com/iran-brings-drones-to-two-redeployments-near-syria-israel-border/
Space
X launches Amos 17: https://www.debka.com/israels-amos-17-satellite-successfully-launched-by-spacex/
Shin
Bet uncovers Hamas terror plot. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5564684,00.html
Arab
who saved Jewish Family and threatened receives citizenship for him, his wife
and child. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267032
N.
Korea’s warning. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267041
Israel
taking part in the coalition in the gulf. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267048
Rabbi
and two sons attacked in Munich. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267047
Tardigrades
may be living on the moon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267052
Comparing
Israel to Nazis is antisemitic. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267058
Yeshiva-Soldier
murdered in Yehuda. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267104
Re:
Aug 4th explosion in Cairo the suspects are from Hamas. https://www.debka.com/hamas-activists-arrested-in-cairo-in-probe-of-bomb-blast-that-killed-20/
Belgistan
Newspaper under criticism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267091
Flights
to Ben Gurion Airport return to normal as Russia shuts down their S-400 jamming
devices. But Iran jamming GPS in the straits of Hormuz. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267096
Bodies
of murder suspects found in Canada. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/manhunt-ends-bodies-believed-to-be-bc-murder-suspects-found-in-northern-manitoba/ar-AAFtYNo?ocid=spartanntp
Anglican
church of Canada no longer prays for the conversion of Jews. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267083
Israel
called back citizens from Kashmir. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267092
Melanoma
vaccine BDS please boycott. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267088
Creative
solution for Charedim. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5564682,00.html
Peace
now sign moved to proper place. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267097
He
knew karate but could not use it. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267123
Manhunt
continues for terror cell. https://www.debka.com/an-organized-terrorist-cell-murdered-dvir-sorek-intelligence-takes-over-the-hunt/
92-year-old
SS guard on trial. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5565979,00.html
What
happened to the Likud must not happen to Israel Ben Dror Yemeni! https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5563923,00.html
Swastika
found of beds of Israelis in dorm. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267125
Vilna
Synagogue reopened after threats. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267138
American
Airline to launch Dallas, TX to Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267139
Ganz
supports settlement blocks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267152
More
Iranian treats. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267157
A
good Shabbos and a productive fast,
Rachamim
Pauli
