Words Of Chizuk

The Rambam (Hil. Taanit 1:1-3) writes:

“It is a positive commandment from the Torah to cry out and blow trumpets over any calamity that befalls the Jewish community, as the verse states, ‘Upon the enemy who attacks, you shall blow the trumpets.’ This means that with regard to any calamity, such as a famine, epidemic, locust or the like, you should cry out and blow trumpets.

This is part of the process of repentance. At a time when hardship occurs and the Jewish nation cries and calls out, everyone will realize that it is because of their bad deeds that this hardship has occurred. This response will be cause for the calamity to be removed from the Jewish people.

But if the Jewish nation does not cry and call out, and instead says that this occurrence is mere happenstance and the way of the world, this is the way of cruelty and causes that they remain stuck in their evil ways, and further calamities will transpire.”

I have thought that if Maran Ovadiah Yosef zt”l was with us today, what would he be doing? During past wars, such as the Yom Kippur War, Maran advised people to strengthen themselves in prayer. Moreover, he encouraged others to further devote themselves to Torah study and taanit dibur, refraining from speaking about other matters unrelated to Torah study and Jewish subjects.

There is a letter written by Maran to the Kollel ‘Chazon Ovadiah’ in which he encouraged others to focus specifically on a taanit dibur. Regular fasting weakens one’s body and makes it difficult for one to focus on their learning, and it is Torah study which protects and saves a person (Sotah 21a).

As many individuals are now returning to their schedules of learning in kollelim, one should accept upon oneself to learn for a duration of several hours without any other conversation (i.e. taanit dibur). This is worth many times more than actual fasting. Fasting was not the approach of Maran zt”l, but Torah study was.

The Gaon of Vilna was once asked by the Dubno Maggid, “I travel from city to city, and I strengthen different communities. Please tell me, in what regard can I strengthen them? Observing Shabbat in accordance with halacha? Raising children? Family purity?” All of these were important, but the Gaon of Vilna replied with one thing. “To establish fixed times to study Torah.” A day should not pass during which a person does not study Torah nor a night.

An individual who is spending his time in Kollel devoting himself to Torah study should take to heart that there are soldiers on the front lines who are risking their lives. At such a time, it cannot be that when one is studying Torah, he turns to distracted conversations. There must be intensified commitment and focus to learning with increased diligence and refraining from any side conversations (i.e. taanit dibur).

Each individual knows what it is that they need to improve upon. First and foremost, as mentioned, Torah study. But there is more, such as guarding one’s eyes, observing Shabbat as dictated by halachah, and keeping Kosher according to halachic standards. Each of us should ask ourselves in what area we can focus our efforts, and say, “I am strengthening myself [in this area] in the merit of am Yisrael.”

We have experienced horrific things this past week. We cannot recall the last time such a calamity struck klal Yisrael in the Land of Israel. Since the Holocaust, such a number of Jews have not been killed in one day in such a brutal, horrific way.

Our focus must be to engage in complete teshuva, as the Rambam writes. One who says this tragedy ‘just happened,’ is considered to be cruel.

The g’marah (Taanit 15a) observes that the verse, “And Hashem saw their deeds, that they returned from their evil ways’ (Yona 3:10), said in relation to the city of Nineveh, does not note that Hashem saw their sackcloth and fasting. Instead, emphasis is placed on a change of their behavior. Teshuva and good deeds are most significant. “In the place where penitents stand, even completely righteous individuals cannot stand” (Berachot 34b).

Moreover, the g’marah (Pesachim 50a, Bava Batra 10b) states, “Regarding those who were executed by the government, no other person can stand in their midst.” The merit of such an individual is very great. The g’marah (Bava Batra 10b) records how there were two brothers, Luliyanus and Papus, who stepped forth and said that they had killed the daughter of a king, and that the larger Jewish community should not be condemned or held responsible for their death. As a result, Luliyanus and Papus were killed, and the rest of the Jewish people were saved.

The truth was that they hadn’t killed the king’s daughter. Rather, they sacrificed their own lives to save the Jewish people. This is what is called ‘Harugei Lud,’ those who were murdered in the city of Lud, and about whom the g’marah says, “Regarding those who were executed by the government, no other person can stand in their midst.”

The meforshim (commentaries) note that Luliyanus and Papus were not known to be Torah scholars or have especially excelled at performing good deeds. Rather, they sacrificed themselves for the sake of the Jewish people. Their merit was that no other person can stand in their midst in Heaven. The Rambam (Hil. Yesodei HaTorah 5:4) writes that there is no higher level than those who are executed by the government, and about them the pasuk says, “For Your (Hashem’s) sake, we have been killed all day, we are viewed as sheep for the slaughterer,” (Tehillim 44:23); in addition, “Gather to Me, My pious ones, those who have made a covenant with Me by slaughter” (ibid. 50:5).

The Rambam (Iggeret HaRambam, Kiddush Hashem) states that “one who is given the merit of rising to this level by giving up their life ‘Al Kiddush Hashem’ because they are a Jew, even if they had sins like the sins of Yerovam ben Nevat, he is of the World to Come.” Even if the individual was not a Torah scholar, this is true of them. If the individual does in fact have the merit of Torah study and good deeds, it is even more so. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni) adds that even if the person was not righteous in their lifetime, but they die because they are a Jew, they become someone who is a chasid (pious).

The Midrash Talpiyot notes that there is a special chamber in Gan Eden which includes an image of all those who were killed ‘Al Kiddush Hashem.’ Mashiach enters inside along with the avot (Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov) and sees the images of all those who gave up their life. He then raises his voice like a lion until all the tzaddikim in Gan Eden shudder. Hashem, so to speak, cries two tears, reminiscent of the verses, “O G-d of vengeance, Hashem;’ ‘O G-d of vengeance, appear!’

Rav Yonatan Eibeschitz (Yaarot Devash) writes that those who are killed by non-Jews to sanctify Hashem’s name are “completely righteous.” The Sefer Rokeach additionally adds that there are seven rows before the Divine Presence, and those who are seated in the front row are those who were killed ‘Al Kiddush Hashem.’

In the Zohar, this idea is brought down slightly differently. “There are seven halls before the Divine Presence. The first hall is reserved for those who are righteous converts, the second hall is reserved for those who were afflicted with terrible illnesses, the third hall is for those schoolchildren who died in their youth, the fourth is for those who mourned Jerusalem and ‘all those who were killed by non-Jews because they were Jews.’”

Rav Moshe Cordevero notes that these halls are one above the above in ascending order, with the first hall on the bottom, the second hall above the first, the third hall above the second, and the fourth hall above that. The Zohar as well states that when a Jew is killed by a non-Jew, all the angels in Gan Eden let out a profuse cry and the entire dynasty of Dovid Hamelech accompany Mashiach who stands in his place and cries out. On Rosh Chodesh, Mashiach puts on a special robe and upon it are the images of all those who were killed ‘Al Kiddush Hashem.’ These concepts speak in spiritual terms, and we do not understand it in human terms.

The Maharach Ohr Zarua (Siman 14) cites a great sage who ruled that one who is killed ‘Al Kiddush Hashem’ does not require to be mourned over. The Maharach Ohr Zarua disagrees and states that they do require mourning. However, what about reciting kaddish? People make the mistake, thinking that kaddish only comes to save the soul from gehinnom. But if that was so, anyone who was killed ‘Al Kiddush Hashem’ recently, whether it be soldiers or others involved in the war effort, and they ascend to the highest levels of Olam Habah (the World to Come), should not need kaddish recited for them. However, writes the Ohr Zarua, there are an infinite number of levels to Gan Eden, and therefore, reciting kaddish raises their soul from one higher level to the next. Therefore, with regard to one who was killed, ‘Al Kiddush Hashem,’ they are mourned and kaddish is recited for them.

Ultimately, we do not understand the ways of Heaven. We cannot say that such a tragedy happened because of this or that reason. Moreover, we cannot be certain that this tragedy occurred because of any misdeeds that have been committed in our day. We are not new souls nor are we in this world for the first time. The Arizal says that just about all our souls are reincarnated from previous lives. It could very well be that in a previous lifetime, a person was a tzaddik but had been derelict in a few areas. As a result, the neshamah (soul) descended once again to this world, and was then killed ‘Al Kiddush Hashem,’ and the soul ascended to Gan Eden. As it is, we do not know all the ways of Hashem.

A story is told about the Maharal of Prague. One Friday morning, a woman approached him with a question pertaining to a chicken she had intended to cook for Shabbat. The chicken had sustained an injured leg, and she was unsure if it would be rendered a tereifah (non-kosher). The Maharal told her that at the edge of the city of Prague, there lived a nine-year-old boy. The woman should go to him, and he will rule about the kosher status of the chicken. The woman, respecting the directive of the Maharal, approached the home where the young boy lived. The parents opened the door, and the woman relayed what the Maharal had instructed her to do. But the parents did not understand. “Are you making fun of us?” they said. “Our son is deaf and mute. He has never spoken a word in his life. How will he be able to give you the ruling?” “I came here just as the Maharal told me to,” replied the woman. As soon as they heard that the Maharal had instructed the woman as such, they acquiesced.

The young boy was sitting in the corner of the room. The woman approached the boy and handed him the chicken, after which he began examining it. The parents along with the mother and father stood nearby, unsure if the boy would say anything. After all, he was deaf and mute. Suddenly, though, after examining the chicken, the boy declared, “Kasher.” The woman greatly thanked the boy, knowing that she would now have what to cook for Shabbat.

The woman began making her way out the door, when suddenly, they heard a large boom. Returning to the room, they saw that the boy had collapsed dead on the floor. The boy had uttered one word in his life— “Kasher”—and then he died. The woman returned to the Maharal very uneasy. “Don’t worry,” replied the Maharal, “I will explain later what happened.”

The funeral was arranged for that day, Friday, with the entire city in attendance. After the burial, the Maharal announced that everyone should make their way to the shul, as he had a message to share.

The Maharal got up in the middle of the shul and began: “You are all wondering what happened here. A woman came to ask me a question in halachah, I sent her to a young boy, he rendered a ruling of kasher, and then he died. What does this all mean?

“If you remember,” continued the Maharal, “nine years ago, there used to be a particular rabbi in this city.” The community immediately recalled who this great rabbi was. He was both righteous and learned. “One Friday, he was on his way to the mikvah, and a woman approached him, stating that she had a chicken and she was unsure if it was kosher or not. Caught off guard and distracted by his focus on walking to the mikvah, the rabbi ruled that the chicken was not kosher. Without another option, the poor woman returned home, and her children went hungry for that Shabbat.

“The truth was that the chicken was kosher, but in the rabbi’s haste to the mikvah, he erred in his ruling. Sometime later, the rabbi passed away.

“In Heaven, everything is precisely calculated to the very last detail and there is no such thing as a special dispensation or “protection.” (Torah study is the exception, which in fact does provide a wall of protection for a person in Heaven). Therefore, this rabbi who ruled that the chicken was not kosher when it really was kosher needed to rectify his soul. As such, he was sent back to this world. The problem was that should he return to this world, there would be the chance that he would commit more sins. To avoid that, he asked that he be protected by being born as someone who was deaf and mute, so he would not be held culpable and commit any sins.

“This nine-year-old boy,” concluded the Maharal of Prague, “was the gilgul (reincarnation) of that great rabbi who passed away exactly nine years ago. When the woman brought the chicken to the boy, it was the opportunity for this soul to be rectified. That is why I informed the woman to seek out the boy. Once he uttered the word “Kasher,” his soul completed its rectification, and returned to Heaven.

This should strengthen our emunah (faith in Hashem). Everything in this world has its place, and everything has a purpose and address. We are intended to turn to Hashem in prayer that He accepts our requests and merits us to fulfill His will for as long as we can.

Those who are going out to war now are waging a milchemet Hashem, war of Hashem. We have a “thousand from a tribe, a thousand for a tribe” (Bamidbar 31:4). For every thousand that are going out into the battlefield, we have a thousand who are praying for them and engaging in Torah study (Bamidbar Rabbah 22:3). We are now charged to diligently apply ourselves to Torah study and increase our concentration for the benefit of the relief and redemption of the Jewish people.

Anyone who needs a r’fuah sh’leimah (recovery) should be blessed by Hashem to have their entire body healed. We should no longer hear of any calamities in our Land, and we should all merit to herald the Final Redemption.

 By Rav Yitzchak Yosef