Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz: February 2012

Then and Now

By Rabbi Pichos Lipschutz

It’s the time of year when something marvelous happens, when we merit to see clearly, with our own eyes, that the nishmas Yisroel is something real and something sublime, plugged in to a higher source.

No matter what challengers or trials surround us, when Purim approaches, our hearts beat a bit faster, our smiles stretch a bit wider, and we look at things differently. Despite the fact that not all is going well, as we are deeply mired in the mud of golus and sometimes we feel as if our senses have become dulled, the simcha of the day is felt universally.

“Eidus hee leba’ei ha’olam.” The increase in simcha experienced by all sorts of Yidden, from wherever they might come, is an enduring testimony to the reality of the greatness of the day.

It was just before Purim in 1941 in the Warsaw ghetto. There were few reasons to smile. Everyone locked in there was worried about what the next day would bring, hunger and disease seemed destined to be the two species of mishloach manos.

The Piacezna Rebbe, who was in the ghetto, gathered a few broken souls around him. He quoted to them the Tikkunei Zohar which states that Purim is as holy as Yom Kippur, as evidenced by the name of the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippurim, which can be read as Yom K’Purim, meaning that the holiest of days is like Purim. Many interpretations are offered in explanation of the comparison.

The Rebbe opened his heart and addressed the suffering souls. When the sun sets on Erev Yom Kippur, he told them, no Jew would say that they won’t fast this year because they aren’t in the mood. As Yom Kippur begins, no one says that it is too hard to do teshuvah, so they will wait until they are more tuned in to the feelings of the day. Yom Kippur arrives and you get yourself into it, ready or not. You follow the tzivuy Hashem. Purim is no different, said the Rebbe. Purim arrives with the obligation to be joyous. Even when surrounded by evil murderers, illness and suffering, Jews are obligated to be joyous on this day.

“You,” the Rebbe told the poor souls in the Warsaw ghetto, “must also be happy today.”

That was then, in the darkest hour our people have known since the churban Bais Hamikdosh. Today, boruch Hashem, we are surrounded by so many reasons to be happy, not the least of which are our relative comfort and freedom, and the right to live as ehrliche Yidden. We have no excuse to hold back and sit in our homes depressed, forlorn, worried about the future, cynically complaining about all the noise outside and growing agitated at the joyous nature of everyone else in the Jewish world.

The simcha that Hakadosh Boruch Hu shined into His world in Shushan can still be sensed, almost touched, in the streets of Brooklyn, Lakewood , Chicago, Detroit, and Monsey, as well as in Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak, Golders Green, and wherever Yidden live.

It’s as if the neshoma knows that when Purim arrives, the light of revach vehatzolah ya’amod laYehudim shines again.

The Mishnah at the beginning of the second perek of Maseches Megillah states, “Hakorei es hamegillah lemafreia lo yotzah - One who reads the pesukim of the megillah in reverse [order] has not fulfilled his obligation.” Many seforim explain that the Mishnah is hinting that someone who reads and considers the story of the megillah - the danger and subsequent salvation - to be “lemafreia,” ancient history, has missed the point of the megillah and has to read it again.

Purim is a holiday of redemption. Mekubolim say that every year on Purim, the Divine powers which saved the Jews from annihilation at the hands of Haman are strengthened and empowered. Others say that this occurs when we lain the Megillah. Therefore, if it was read incorrectly, it must be read again to enable the ability to redeem us to present itself in our day as it occurred back then.

In the prayer of Al Hanissim, we thank Hashem for the miracles “bayomim haheim bazeman hazeh.”

This may hint at the fact that the nissim of Purim are “bayomim haheim bazman hazeh,” as relevant bazeman hazeh in 2012 as they were back then, bayomim haheim. The knowledge that Hashem is guiding every detail that takes place with us, coupled with the awareness that He is controlling the destinies of the nations of the world, reminds us that the end of the saga will be comforting for us in our day as it was to the Jews back then.

This, perhaps, is the meaning of the words we declare, “Teshuosom hoyisa lonetzach - You were their savior for eternity.” Each year, on Purim, the Divine intervention which saved them back then is present and has the ability to rescue us.

“Vesikvosom bechol dor vador.” This is our hope in each generation. Each period has its distinct challenges, obstacles and problems, but the hope remains one and the same.

A month after Purim, we will be reciting those same words: “bechol dor vador.” At the Seder, when we recite Vehi She’omdah, we say, “Elah shebechol dor vador.” In every generation, they arise to destroy us and Hashem saves us from them.

My zaide, Rav Leizer Levin zt”l, bezivug sheini, married a remarkable woman. When we were young children, every year, our family would join them for the Seder. Of course there are many memories etched in a child’s heart from being at the Seder of his grandparents. But there is one thing in particular that stands out.

Savta had a unique custom. She had escaped in the late ‘50s from the Soviet Union. When everyone would say the words “shelo echod bilvod - it wasn’t only one person” [who sought to eradicate us], she would say to herself the names of the communist leaders she lived under who had sought to destroy Yiddishkeit. I had never heard of them, and they had strange sounding names. She would say, “Shelo Krushchev bilvod, shelo Stalin bilvod…” It was her little way of commemorating her own Yetzias Mitzrayim. She didn’t know that anyone heard or paid attention, but to us kids, the names were funny and strange-sounding, so we waited for it every year.

I have a small admission to make. In her memory, I do the same thing. Every year, when everyone sings so joyfully “shelo echod bilvod,” I say to myself, “Shelo Krushchev bilvod, shelo Stalin bilvod,” and the rasha who happens to be the most prominent of those seeking our destruction that year.

And you know what? After a few years, I noticed something fascinating. Each year, it feels as if there is a new name at the old game. There is a new, fierce, fearsome warrior promising to drive Israel into the sea. The old guy is gone and replaced by a new one singing the same hateful tune.

Shelo Arafat bilvod, then shelo Saddam bilvod, and then shelo Bin Laden bilvod. This year, the blank is filled with the name of Ahmadinejad. Every few years, one rasha goes and a new rasha arises, causing the Jewish world to tremble. Every year we sing with assurance that “Hakadosh Boruch matzileinu miyodom.”

Vesikvosom bechol dor vador.

Every year, when we unroll our megillos, we are granted anew the ability to rid ourselves of our enemies. Just as Mordechai Hatzaddik assembled the Jews of his day and commanded them to daven and do teshuvah so that they would be saved, in our day as well we have the ability to redeem ourselves if we follow the instructions of the tzaddik. Just as in their day the salvation caused by their teshuvah led to the construction of the second Bais Hamikdosh, so too in our day, the geulah which we can bring about on Purim can lead to the construction of the Bais Hamikdosh, if only we are worthy.

It is not far-fetched to think so.

One year, during the course of the Purim seudah, the Chiddushei Harim began addressing the chassidim who had gathered around him. He said that when reading the megillah, one encounters all sorts of seemingly insignificant and random incidents, tales of political conspiracy and palace backroom betrayal.

When you begin to read the megillah, you wonder why we are being told all sorts of tales of palace intrigue regarding a Persian king and about a feast he held to commemorate his third year on the throne. Why is the megillah writing about a queen who didn’t want to appear at the feast, and why does it spend so much time discussing the search for a new queen after the first one was killed?

Why do we care, asked the Chiddushei Harim, and why do we have to know all that?

The Rebbe was quiet, lost in thought, as the questions sunk in. Then he continued and said that this is how it will be when Moshiach will come. Strange occurrences will be taking place. The news will be confounding. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, Moshiach will arrive and everyone will recognize that all that transpired was tied to the geulah.

The Chiddushei Harim’s insight echoes a remark of Rav Chaim Volozhiner.

According to a tradition passed down in the Soloveitchik family, Rav Chaim’s talmidim once asked him what it will be like when Moshiach comes. This is what he answered:

“I will come home from yeshiva after Shacharis one morning. The rebbetzin will ask me if I’m ready for breakfast. I will say, ‘Relka, I haven’t yet finished preparing my shiur. I will eat after I review the sugya that I have to learn with my talmidim in the yeshiva.’

“‘Okay,’ she will say. ‘Since you’re not yet ready for breakfast, I will hurry to the market and buy some things. Meanwhile, I will keep the soup cooking on the stove. Please, Chaim, keep an eye out for the pot on the stove and make sure it doesn’t burn. I know that when you learn, you forget about everything else, but please do me this favor.’

“The rebbetzin will leave and I will open a sefer and get engrossed in the sugya. Suddenly, I will sense that the sun has begun shining much stronger than ever before. What clarity! Suddenly, I will hear the birds in the trees singing new tunes. Their song will be fuller and more pleasant than ever before. Their melodies will touch the heart. Then, suddenly, there will be a hum of activity from the street, getting louder by the moment.

“I will look out the window. I’ll see Elya the shoemaker running in a tumult and I will ask him, ‘What is the commotion about? What is happening to the sun’s light? What is that beautiful song the birds are singing? What happened that the trees are suddenly blooming so differently and beautifully? What is going on out there?

“‘Rebbe,’ he will say to me, “do you mean to say that you don’t know? Moshiach has come!’

“I will immediately run to my closet to take out my Shabbos beged, put it on, and rush out to welcome Moshiach. I will notice that my jacket is missing a button. On Motzoei Shabbos, the button fell off, and when I asked my rebbetzin to sew it back on, she said, ‘There is no rush. You won’t need it until next Friday.’

“Now I have to go greet Moshiach and my beged is missing a button. I will stand there, unsure of whether to wear my Shabbos clothes without that button and wondering if I could go out to welcome Moshiach dressed in weekday clothes. At that moment, the rebbetzin will come running in to the house all out of breath. ‘Chaim,’ she will say to me. ‘Where were you? The soup I left on the stove has burnt.’

“I will say to her, ‘What do you care about the burnt soup? Quick! Put on your Shabbos dress! We have to go out to greet Moshiach.’”

Rav Chaim, in this evocative and poetic description, underscored the sheer ordinariness of the day when the long-awaited redeemer of the Jewish people will arrive. There will be no advance warning. One day, he will just be here. The sun will shine brightly, the birds will sing, the trees will bloom, and a new age will dawn. We will forget everything else, quickly put on our Shabbos clothing, and run out the door to welcome him.

The seemingly random daily events which take place in the world will suddenly culminate in the great moment.

Purim is a day of redemption. On this day, our forefathers were redeemed in Shushan. On this day, ever since, Jews have seen yeshuos. This day is marked for posterity as one of deliverance and joy.

If we are worthy, we will witness how the threats from Iran, the plague of deadly diseases, the crumbling economies of the world, the fearful political climate, the Arab Spring, and who knows what else will be tied together, and it will be plainly evident to us that they were all the precursors for the great day for which we have all been waiting.

May it take place soon.

Velo yikolmu lonetzach kol hachosim boch.

Ah freileichen Purim!

The Secret to Serenity

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

The world around us pursues happiness, yet like an animal trying to catch its own tail it eludes them. People spin about dizzily, going in circles, as they seek to make themselves feel happy by escaping reality with artificial stimulants. In an attempt to find joy and fulfillment people become addicted to artifice to escape the sad reality of a vacuous life. Their goal eludes them and all they achieve is a lethal habit.

The concept is so simple, the pursuit is so universal, yet, for so many, it is so unattainable.

We recognize that fact as we note the Shulchan Aruch, the guide of our lives, obligates us to be joyous during the month we usher in this week. When Chazal make a statement of fact, "Mishenichnas Adar marbin besimcha" (Taanis 29a), they are saying that simcha, that elusive destination, is not a utopian dream attainable only by the elite and very rich. Happiness is within the reach of every Jew, and thus they instruct us to increase our joy during the month of Adar.

The language of Chazal is a bit troublesome. "Mishenichnas Adar, as the month of Adar enters," they say, "marbin besimcha, we increase our happiness." What does it mean to increase happiness? To what extent are we to do so? Why the ambiguous language?

Rav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler teaches that simcha cannot come from a quick fix. It is a goal that is attained through contemplation and hard work.

"Simcha has to be increased in levels... Therefore, we begin from Rosh Chodesh, since the avodah of simcha requires great preparation, and we continue with this avodah each succeeding day," (Michtov M’Eliyahu II, pg. 125).

The attainment of simcha requires working to shed the barriers that prevent a person from feeling joy. Simcha requires a focus on tikkun hamiddos in order to become selfless and non-judgmental, and to avoid being consumed by jealousy of others.

Reaching simcha means living with the words of the Chovos Halevavos so that you become imbued with the bitachon necessary to survive and flourish in a cruel world. Shaar Habitachon in the Chovos Halevavos is essentially a guide to help us traverse the turbulence we encounter. Its study reinforces the understanding that our ability to succeed and navigate the minefields which inevitably arise is based on the degree of faith we maintain in the Borei Olam. If we realize that all that transpires is caused by a benevolent Father in Heaven, then we look at the world, and ourselves, differently.

The "if-only" syndrome - if only I had those shoes I saw advertised, if only I had a house on the beach in Miami, if only I had a thousand dollars in my wallet - must be banished. The feeling that your life is incomplete without the attainment of something you don’t really need is akin to a child crying bitterly until he receives a lollipop. His life is really as complete now as it was prior to his receiving the candy. The lollipop provides a momentary lift only to be quickly forgotten. Transient objects which are craved to stimulate happiness never fail to disappoint. However, their affect is fleeting, quickly disappearing; all they can accomplish is to mask over some inner need and can not provide lasting fulfillment which engenders true simcha.

True happiness emerges from internal satisfaction that is brought about through strength and conviction. It is not superficial. It comes from a strong constitution and immune system equipped to withstand spiritual and emotional battles. One who is strong mentally and physically can make do without the band-aids, and to one who is weak, the band-aid is of little use. True strength is acquired through emunah and bitachon.

The baal bitachon experiences happiness and serenity that escape others. A baal bitachon rejoices in his friends’ successes and does not become embittered when his own ambitions are not realized the way he would have wanted. He is not encumbered by jealously and petty personal grievances. Despite temporary defeats, he is able to view the entire picture and comprehend that all that happens is for the good.

In fact, it is this acceptance that serves as motivation for him to succeed. Understanding that the world is controlled by Hashem permits the baal bitachon to joyously accept what comes his way. It enables him to manage his fears and emotions in a productive manner and erase the pain inherent in the failure of achieving his ambitions.

Adar is the month of happiness, leading into the month of geulah, but in order to achieve the aspiration of simcha, we must engage in the process of marbim besimcha. Step by step, we have to increase our cognizance of the truths of life, so that we grow and develop the ability to be truly joyous.

The Shechinah doesn’t rest on a person who is unhappy and depressed. In order to make ourselves worthy of properly understanding Torah and interpersonal relationships, we have to undertake to climb the ladder which leads to simcha. Through that resolve, we will improve ourselves and our avodas Hashem, making us better and happier people.

This mandate is relevant every day, but especially during the month when we are commanded to be happy. We would be repulsed to see someone dancing joyously to loud music and eating meat at the beginning of the month of Av. Similarly, if we see someone unhappy when chodesh Adar arrives, we should know that something is amiss.

The Rambam in his introduction to Sefer Hamada [pg 21, Frankel edition] writes that the reason Chazal instituted the reading of the megillah on Purim is to notify the future generations that "emes hu," the words of the posuk are true. The posuk [Devorim 4, 7] states, "Ki mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim kerovim eilav, kaHashem Elokeinu bechol koreinu Eilov." The posuk is correct in assuring us that this great nation has a G-d Who is close to it and Who is there whenever we call out to Him.

Why does the Rambam need to underscore that the posuk is reality? It’s a posuk, after all. Of course it is real. How could we even contemplate otherwise?

Perhaps the proper understanding is that the story of Purim demonstrated that at every juncture and at each stage of the unfolding tale, there was a Divine agenda, prodding circumstances towards a happy ending. Though not evident until the story reached its culmination, every occurrence, as sad as it appeared, was a facet of a plan leading to redemption.

Seemingly random incidents and facts, such as Vashti’s brazenness, the search for a new queen, Mordechai’s knowledge of foreign languages, and even the month during which Achashveirosh married Esther, were all details in a gradual, measured march towards salvation.

Bechol koreinu eilov.

Bechol koreinu, no matter what our situation is, we cry out "eilov," to Hashem. Everything that transpires brings us closer "eilov," to Him. As the Jews of Shushan watched the goings-on, they felt as if the world was closing in on them and that they were doomed to destruction and defeat. In fact, the opposite was true. They had sinned at the feast of Achashveirosh and were therefore marked for "kloyah," annihilation (Megillah 12a), but because Hashem pitied them and heard their tefillos, "bechol koreinu eilov," anytime we call out to Him He answers.

Mordechai rallied the Jews of the time and they cried out, fasted and did teshuvah, so Hashem had the tragedy bring about a return of the Jewish people "eilov," to Him.

Ana Bechoach is a special acrostic tefillah composed by Rav Nechunya ben Hakanah. It is recited every morning together with the korbanos and on Friday evening prior to Lecha Dodi. The tefillah asks Hashem to accept the prayers of Klal Yisroel and concludes by stating, "Shavoseinu kabel ushema tzaakoseinu yodei taalumos." We ask Hashem to accept our shouted prayers, as He knows secrets.

The question is obvious: If we say that we are crying out to Hashem, why do we then add that He should hear us because He knows all the secrets?

Because He knows all the secrets and how the travails will end in salvation, we ask that he hear our prayers and bring about the reprieve which he has planned faster, with less pain and aggravation.

Bechol koreinu eilov.

Along with thousands of others, Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach and his family found refuge in Vilna during the period leading up to the Second World War. While in Vilna, he had developed a relationship with Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky.

During his stay there, his 14-year-old daughter, Miriam Raizel, passed away from a lung condition from which she had been suffering. Rav Shach was devastated.

At the time, Rav Chaim Ozer was old, weakened from the illness which would claim his life and virtually bedridden. He was unable to be menachem avel the Shach family as they sat shivah. A short while later, Rav Shach went to vist Rav Chaim Ozer, who had himself experienced the loss of his only daughter. The aged gaon looked at the young rosh yeshiva he had come to know, appreciate and love. Though Rav Shach didn’t mention his daughter’s passing, Rav Chaim Ozer saw the pain in his eyes. Sensing what he was going through, he told him to take a seat.

After an extended silence, the rabbon shel kol bnei hagolah said a few words that Rav Shach would carry with him for the rest of his life. He told him, "Rav Shach, lulei sorachcha sha’ashuoy oz ovadeti be’onyi. Without Torah, I wouldn’t have been able to go on."

Those words were to become Rav Shach’s mantra.

Many years later, some rabbonim went to visit Rav Shach on the day of his daughter’s yahrtzeit. He spoke about his daughter and repeated what Rav Chaim Ozer had told him. And then he explained what he thought Rav Chaim Ozer meant.

He related that it is analogous to two prisoners who were jailed under horrendous conditions. They were both understandably miserable, yet one managed to smile from time to time and make conversation with others. The other one was bitterly morose. He looked miserable and acted even worse.

The difference was that one knew that he was nearing the completion of his sentence and would soon be free. While he was suffering terribly, knowing that he would soon be a free man gave him the strength to smile. The second prisoner had a life sentence with no hope of ever getting out alive. He was emotionally destroyed and could never bring himself to smile or interact socially ever again.

Rav Shach explained that without Torah, when tragedy strikes, a person loses his equilibrium and ability to go on. He becomes overcome with pain and sadness and finds it impossible to function. One who learns Torah is blessed by the "pikudei Hashem mesamchei leiv." But it is more than that. One who learns Torah, one who is mesha’ashei’ah in Torah, becomes suffused with the knowledge that Hashem maintains Hashgocha Protis on everything in this world. When he is hit by tragedy, he doesn’t lose himself, for he knows that what happened to him was brought about by a loving Creator for a higher purpose.

The world is spinning out of control. Every day brings with it more ominous news. People have many tzaros. They wonder why they suffer from illness, children not turning out the way they dreamt, parnassah, tuition bills, shidduchim and so much more. They wonder why they are being challenged. Why me? Why is this all happening? What is the purpose? How will it all end?

Lulei sorachcha sha’ashuoy oz ovadeti be’onyi.

Emes hu.

We must remember that it is true. Bechol koreinu eilov. We can be comforted by the knowledge that if we cry out, if we return eilov, we will live to see the purpose in all the sadness that we experienced. We will experience the joy of seeing the circle come together and the pieces of the puzzle fitting together and creating a picture of relief and simcha.

May it occur speedily for all who need yeshuos and refuos. May we all have much nachas from our children, financial prosperity, and stability. Let’s keep on davening for the Jews in Eretz Yisroel under threat of war, for everyone from Yosef Sholom ben Chaya Musha to Sholom Mordechai ben Rivkah, and for the geulah hasheleimah vehakrovah. Amein.

Adar is finally here. Let’s all be happy.

On the Precipice

His talmidim often recall how the famed Philadelphia rosh mesivta, Rav Mendel Kaplan, made each day an experience. Like the moshol given by Chazal in this week’s parsha, he prepared a shulchan aruch for his talmidim filled with a variety of dishes so that everybody had something to taste.

This week’s parsha begin with the words, "Ve’eileh hamishpotim asher tasim lifneihem - These are the rules and laws to place before the Jewish people."

Chazal see hints from the way the Torah expresses the words of Hashem to Moshe as a lesson for the proper methodology of teaching. They explain that the term "tasim lifneihem" is used to instruct those who transmit our heritage and mishpotim to place timeless ideals, values and lessons before their students as a shulchan aruch, a prepared table.

An experienced chef at a five-star restaurant invests time and energy in setting the perfect table. He wants it to be attractive, welcoming and pleasant, knowing that his job is to satisfy the customer. From when the customer sits down at the table until he rises, he should feel attended to.

Similarly, Rav Mendel would create an atmosphere in the shiur room in which we felt ourselves being handed tools to face the future.

Among other things, he would analyze the headlines and lead stories of the newspaper through the prism of daas Torah, revealing the significance and relevance of each story to Torah Jews.

The newspapers of today tell a very scary story, and we need his insight.

The legendary maggid, Rav Yankel Galinsky, tells of a simple villager who returned home following his rov’s drasha one Shabbos.

"You know?" he told his wife. "The rov said that Moshiach might come very soon and we’ll all go to Eretz Yisroel."

The wife wrung her hands. "But if that happens, what will be with our chickens? Who will feed them? And how will we live?"

The husband stroked his beard and pondered her question. "Good point," he said. "But you know, life here is rough. The Cossacks are attacking Yidden all over. It might be better over there."

The wife contemplated his wisdom and then her face lit up. "I know what to do!" she exclaimed. "We will ask the Ribbono Shel Olam to send the Cossacks to Eretz Yisroel and we can stay here, with our chickens!"

Comical as the story sounds, Rav Galinksy makes a strong point. We chatter about this and that and the cosmic significance of the events around us, but their effect on the ultimate geulah is lost upon us. We are oblivious, seeing things superficially and only how they pertain to our little world.

Yes, we need a Rav Mendel to clarify the events we witness and read about. Amidst the confusion, our Yiddishe instincts lead us to our Tehillims.

One needn’t be a news buff to know that Syria is massacring its people by the thousands, yet no one seems to care. The country’s citizens plead with the American government to fulfill its traditional role, but what they get in response is a perfunctory attempt at the United Nations to condemn the murderous actions of dictator Bashar Assad. Of course, everyone knew in advance that Russia and China, bulwarks of democracy and human rights, would block the bureaucratic efforts.

The double-standard no longer surprises. If Israel had inadvertently caused the deaths of a dozen Palestinians, the entire world would unite to condemn the evil Jews for their acts of aggression, and the tiny state would face boycotts, rockets and demands to forsake much of its current land to make amends.

Chazal teach, "Lomoh nikra shmoh Sinai? Why was the mountain upon which the Torah was given called Sinai? Because of the sinah, the hatred, that emanated from there."

When the Jews received the Torah and became the Chosen People, a virulent, relentless hatred for the Jewish people was born. That hatred will persist until the arrival of Moshiach. It is not only ever-present in our history. It is as real today as it ever was.

Rashi, in last week’s parsha tells us that Yisro came to Klal Yisroel after hearing about "Krias Yam Suf and Milchemes Amaleik." Meforshim tell us that these two nissim, specifically, are what drew him close, because they told a story. They demonstrated not just how much Hakadosh Boruch Hu loves the Jewish people, but how much the umos ha’olam hate us.

Yisro understood then the duality of our role, –to be loved by Hashem and hated by everyone else, and then he knew that this was truth. Truth is always resisted.

It is said that Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was initially mocked by the wider scientific community, who were scared of becoming irrelevant and out-dated.

Someone showed Einstein a book that was written against him titled "One Hundred Scientists Against Einstein." The professor shrugged and said, "If I was really wrong, why wouldn’t one be enough? Why do they need one hundred?"

The answer, of course, is that truth is always resisted with disproportionate passion and zeal. Ma’amad Har Sinai and its result, the formation of our nation, engendered unprecedented sinah, and we’re still feeling its effects, even in 2012.

A madman sits in Iran and painstakingly works toward his stated goal of building a nuclear weapon with which to annihilate Israel. The Western nations sat and watch and until very recently barely reacted. Ever since they have been aware of the methodical race towards the bomb’s construction, they did little more than issue strong statements of condemnation. They threatened and spoken very strongly of guaranteeing that Iran would never have the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. Those words were never supported with any real action, nor were they taken seriously.

Now, the crazed despot who leads Iran has scared them all; the United States and its allied nations are worried, but it may be too late. Israel has let it be known that by the summer, Iran will have passed the point of no return. There are reports that the US administration is currently involved in attempting to dissuade Israel from putting an end to the Iranian threats on its own, and it is only to buttress their attempts at preventing Israel from taking action that they have put in place their sanctions..

A bit of history. Following the First World War, the nations of the world, led by United States President Woodrow Wilson, formed the League of Nations with the stated guarantee that a world war would never again take place. From the ashes of the Second World War, the United Nations was formed so that a monstrous demagogue like Hitler would never again rise to power.

Unity, it was thought, would be a barrier no dictator could overcome. The organizers didn’t factor in apathy and indifference.

More recently, the post 9-11 surge of responsibility saw world leaders announcing that it was a new world and new age and that they would never allow terror to wreak mayhem of such magnitude ever again. President George W. Bush declared his doctrine for fighting the Axis of Evil, Americans and every democratic nation supported him. He declared war on al-Qaeda, Iraq and the Taliban.

America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, but it’s also a country of fast-food and high-speed everything, a land of instant results and instant gratification. Wars are dirty and protracted, and Americans have no patience for battles that aren’t won overnight, no matter the consequences. President Bush’s successor ended the war in Iraq and has announced plans to pull out of Afghanistan shortly. The gains in Iraq have already begun unraveling. The Taliban in Afghanistan are biding their time and are poised to fill the vacuum created by the American departure.

Today, at every opportunity, the president of Iran lets everyone know that he is serious about destroying Israel and killing its inhabitants. Yet, neither the United Nations nor the United States, nor any of the Western powers, appear to have the will or determination to stop him on their own. It is as if they are being forced into action by Israel.

Make no mistake about it. If Israel does indeed follow through on its threats to carry out strikes on Iran, the Ayatollahs will not sit back quietly and accept it. Iran and its proxies can be expected to rain down missiles on all of Israel, attempting to extract a very heavy toll of human life and substantial damage. Their revenge will not be limited to targets in Israel. They will strike wherever they can, Rachmana litzlan. It is difficult to overestimate the resultant costs.

The times we live in are indeed frightening. We don’t realize it. We go about our daily lives as if there is no sword hanging over us. We are pleased that the sun shines and warm weather reigns across most of the country. We are relieved that we have not experienced much snow this year. Many of our worries are over inconsequential matters. Perhaps that is the doing of the Soton, for he seeks to prevent us from engaging in teshuvah to prevent serious tragedies from occurring.

The world stands by as the Bnei Yishmoel increase their power and threaten murderous acts against the Bnei Yisroel.

There are few journalists who are capable of unraveling what’s happening around us, providing us with concrete steps for a return to Hashem and to merit His mercy.

We need Rav Mendel Kaplan to read the newspaper for us.

The baalei mussar explain the double lashon of "Lifnei Hashem, ki va, ki va lishpot ha’aretz" (Tehillim 96:13) to mean that before Hashem arrives in judgment to His people, He slowly sends messages, coming gradually closer. Ki va, ki va. The world today resounds with the sounds of His approaching footsteps. The din is imminent.

We need to be serious in examining what is going on around us and recognize that we are living on the precipice of what may be great danger. We must get the message and do what we can to prevent catastrophe from striking before it is too late.

There is a frighteningly relevant idea in the writings of Rav Chaim Vital, prime disciple of the Ari Hakadosh.

In his Sefer Eitz Hadaas Tov (Tehillim 124), he writes, "There are four exiles, Bovel, Modai, Yovon and Edom, but at the End of Days, Yisroel will be in golus Yishmoel, as stated in Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezer and in Medrashim and in the Sefer HaZohar at the end of Parshas Lech Lecha… This exile will be more difficult than the others. This is why his name is Yishmoel, because ‘yishma Keil veya’aneim,’ Yisroel will cry out during that golus and Hashem will listen and respond to them.

"Yishmoel will rule over the world and over Yisroel… and attempt to wipe out the name of Yisroel from under the sky as if it never existed… They will cause Yisroel great tzaros, the likes of which have never before been seen."

The posuk in Tehillim in which Dovid Hamelech says, "Lulei Hashem shehayah lonu bekum aleinu adam, azai chaim bela’unu," alludes to this era. "If Hashem had not been with us when they rose against us, we would have been swallowed up alive."

Rav Chaim Vital writes that be’Acharis Hayomim, during the period of the End of Days leading up to the arrival of Moshiach, when the Arabs will dominate the world, the Jews will be at their wits’ end. They will have no choice other than to cry out to Hashem and He will answer them. "We will have no hope or recourse other than our trust in Hakadosh Boruch Hu that he will save us from their evil hands," writes Rav Chaim Vital.

The nevuah that the Jews will have no one to turn to, to help them out of their predicament is appropriate for our times. We see that the nations of the world will not stop the Ishmaelite murderers.

The words of Rav Chaim Vital resonate with the immediacy of today’s news. We indeed have nowhere and no one to turn to other than Avinu Shebashomayim. Yishma Keil. The nation rises, never resting, focused on its goal through the millennia.

The signs are everywhere. The urgency of the situation drives us to our Tehillims.

As the life of the great gadol, Rav Yosef Shalom ben Chaya Musha, was hanging in the balance, Jews everywhere paused after welcoming in Shabbos and deviated from custom to recite pirkei Tehillim so that he would merit a refuah sheleimah. We perceived the danger.

We welcomed in the blessings of Shabbos, chanting Lecha Dodi and Bo’ee Veshalom, and then beseeched the One to whom is the comforting peace that He have mercy upon His people. We then said, "Ahavas olam bais Yisroel amcha ahavtah," asking him to be poreis sukkas shalom aleinu.

Then we learned that other leading rabbonim and roshei yeshiva were rushed to the hospital, namely Rav Aron Leib Shteinman, Rav Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss and, in this country, Rav Yisroel Belsky. We fear for the life of Rav Yaakov Yosef, who was diagnosed with a dreaded disease and has courageously responded by continuing his regimen of shiurim and Torah learning.

Last week, the Ponovezer rosh yeshiva, Rav Gershon Eidelstein, delivered a shmuess and recounted that prior to the Second World War, several leading gedolim passed away. He said that in their hespeidim, many quoted the posuk, "Hatzaddik ovad ve’ein ish som al leiv…ki mipnei hara ne’esaf hatzaddik" (Yeshaya 57:1), meaning that as long as the tzaddik lives, he shields the nation. When the Jews aren’t worthy of being protected from evil, the tzaddik is gathered up and returns his soul to Heaven.

Rav Edelstein recounted that the Chazon Ish commented that had Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz been alive, his yegias haTorah would have protected the generation and the Holocaust would not have taken place.

Over the summer months, we lost several gedolei marbitzei Torah. As we note, lehavdil bein chaim lechaim, the gedolim who are currently ill, a shiver must go up and down the collective spine of the Jewish people and we must do what we can so that Heaven will grant them a refuah sheleimah, if only so that we can continue to be protected in their merit.

We need to beseech Hashem to have rachmonus on us. We have to use the time He has given us now, warning us of impending peril, to improve our ways so that we will ward off danger.

Yeshayahu hanovi says (42:25), "Vatelahateihu misoviv velo yoda, vativar bo velo yosim al leiv - The power of war and Hashem’s fiery wrath burned all around him, but he did not know. Then it burned within him, but he did not take it to heart."

The explanation of that posuk is that initially Hashem brings catastrophe upon nations of the world "misoviv," who surround us. If that doesn’t suffice, "velo yoda," and we don’t pay attention to reform our actions, mitzvah adherence, middos and Torah observance, but instead attribute what is transpiring to natural and geo-political causes, then "vativar bo," the fire comes closer and closer to us, continuing as long as "velo yosim al leiv."

As we witness nations of the world gripped in upheaval and the winds of war blowing closer to us, as we see danger, disease and disunity in our world, we would do well to grab hold of our own traditional weapons - Torah, tefillah and tzedakah - and turn heavenward to seek merits on our own behalf, and for the sick and needy among us.

We must understand the messages being sent to us and grasp the seriousness of the situation as we pray that Hashem spread His sukkas shalom, sukkah of peace, over all of Klal Yisroel and spare us from disease and danger. For we know, as Yisro discovered, that as much as they hate us, that’s how much He loves us.

Levavo Levav Kol Yisroel

by Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

We live in very precarious times. There is so much good in our community. There is so much Torah being studied and such high standards being set in chinuch, kashrus, tznius and many other areas. More people than ever dedicate their lives to the study and dissemination of Torah. Chessed organizations abound. People seek self-improvement in so many areas.

Nothing is completely good in this world. It will never be all good until the coming of Moshiach. We concentrate on the good, seek to improve what is not so good, and prepare the world for Moshiach’s arrival. We learn. We give tzedakah. We care about others. We seek to stem machlokes and prevent petty rivalries from afflicting us. We seek to create achdus, unity and love. We try to help those who have been abused and those who have drifted. We reach out to the unaffiliated. We daven better. We say Tehillim for the sick and visit them and care for them.

Hatzolah men can be fast asleep in the middle of the night, sitting with their families at the Shabbos table, at work, or enjoying a simcha, and when a call comes crackling over their walkie-talkies they dash out to help save a life, transport an accident victim and heal wounds, in remarkable examples of selfless dedication to others.

Angels of mercy work with the unemployed to find them jobs and restore their lives. They bring food and money, along with moral support to people who can’t make ends meet. They raise funds among friends and strangers to lift spirits and keep homes intact.

We look at all this and feel good about ourselves and our communities, and deservedly so. But we don’t see the whole picture until we are faced with a crisis.

We were confronted with a life-changing crisis and shocked out of our stupor when we heard news from Eretz Yisroel on Monday about the health of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. We have been hearing for several weeks now about his precarious situation, but each time, we davened and merited a strengthening of his situation. We began, perhaps, to take it for granted and slacken off in our tefillos for the posek and amud hador. We have it so good. We have had it so good for so long that we couldn’t imagine it being any other way.

We heard that Rav Elyashiv’s heart was operating at just 20% of capacity and thought that somehow it would return to 100%. We just believed that Hashem would have rachmanus on him and on us and that he would return home and pasken shailos for Klal Yisroel as he has been doing for the past eighty years. We thought he’d be back in the shul where so many of us have watched him daven and participated in his shiurim.

He was rushed to the hospital on Sunday, and by Monday his condition had worsened and we began to worry. His heart stopped and, together with it, hundreds of thousands of hearts across the Jewish world skipped a beat and slowed down. Wherever the news reached, people were awestruck. They said it couldn’t be true. They begged Hashem to have mercy on us. And He did.

Yeshivos interrupted their learning and, heeding the call of Rav Aron Leib Shteinman shlit”a, began storming the heavens to save the life of Yosef Shalom ben Chaya Musha. We were granted a reprieve and he was resuscitated. His condition was stabilized. He was reportedly placed in a medically-induced coma and connected to a respirator, as doctors sought to drain the fluid which had built up in his lungs as a result of his cardiac condition.

Ramkolim went out around Yerushalayim in the dark of night asking people to daven. People streamed to their local shuls and took out Tehillims. Others went to the Kosel, from where the Shechinah hasn’t left, to pour out their hearts and souls in tefillah. It feels like just yesterday that Rav Elyashiv went to the Kosel to give shevach vehoda’ah that he survived a medical emergency. That was yesterday. Today, hundreds are rushing there to beg that he be spared yet again.

His heartbeat, faint as it was, drove the entire Yiddishe velt, as we all felt our dependence on his Torah, and his zechuyos, not only for his life, but for our lives. We felt the actualization of the words of the Rambam, “levavo levav kol Yisroel.” To paraphrase Rav Yisroel Salanter, we all felt that kol zeman az der hartz klapt, iz duh hofenung far unz aleh, as long as that weak heart pumped, we were strong and well and connected to greatness. Hashem was kind and gave us time to do teshuvah, to learn, to daven and to give tzedakah so that the faint heart which resides in a century-old body living in a simple apartment on a tiny narrow street named Rechov Chanan can continue pumping out life-giving sustenance to an entire nation.

Rav Elyashiv’s whole existence is bederech neis in the zechus of Klal Yisroel and the Torah which he has studied. He was weak and sickly as a child and was home-schooled due to his constantly recurring illnesses. He was so weak that he was never able to help out at home or undertake any strenuous physical activity. All he was able to do was learn with his father at home. His health did not improve with age. His children often feared that he was about to die and that they were about to become orphans. His physician, Dr. Aranoff, taught one of his older daughters how to check his pulse. The pulse rate for a normal, healthy person is anywhere from 65 to 100. His daughter remembered that his was 40. Dr. Rachmilevitch, a famous cardiologist, said that his physical condition could never improve.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the fact that he lived a normal lifespan is a miracle.

Yet, as weak as he was, and as weak as he has been, he learned and learned and learned.

When he learned, he was as fresh and vigorous as a healthy, strong man. And just as he lived way past the age of 40, he can live many more years, for when the posuk says that the Torah is an eitz chaim, a tree of life it is no allegory. It is real.

We all know him from his pesokim on every shailah that occurs in our day. We know him from seeing his picture in the paper every week. We know him from reading his teshuvos and maamarim. We know him from the Torah that is repeated in his name and the stories which are often told depicting his greatness. But what many people don’t know or appreciate is that he became famous only after many decades of being removed from the public eye and adulation.

The phenomenal gaon, Rav Zelig Reuvein Bengis, saw a young bochur learning by himself in the Ohel Sarah shul in Meah Shearim, and he thought that he should convince him to go learn in a yeshiva. Seeing that he was learning Maseches Kiddushin, Rav Bengis asked the young Yosef Shalom if he could farher him. Rav Bengis was sure that he would be able to point out to the bochur that he was deficient in his comprehension of the Gemara and that he should go learn in a yeshiva. Rav Bengis was astounded by the young bochur’s understanding and thorough knowledge of the entire masechta and had tremendous respect for him for the rest of his life.

We recently wrote that his daughter, Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, told my son that her own mother, Rebbetzin Shainah Elyashiv, was personable, outgoing and very popular. At her chasunah, she had many friends with whom to rejoice and dance with. At her side of the mechitzah the mood was festive.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the chosson seemed so serious, as he sat surrounded by relatives, neighbors and only a few friends. He had never learned in a formal yeshiva, and the walls and seforim of Ohel Sarah - his “companions” since childhood - were “unable” to dance.

The kallah’s friends asked the bubbly kallah why she was so happy, while her new husband seemed so reticent. “Why am I happy?” answered the kallah. “Ich hob chasunah mit der Toirah alein!” (“I am marrying the Torah itself!”).

For that is who Rav Elyashiv is. Torah, Torah, un noch Torah.

Following his marriage, he went to learn at Kollel Ohel Torah. He would sit and read the words of the sugya being studied in the kollel quietly, to himself. While everyone else would tumul in learning, he sat there reading to himself, as if he was saying Tehillim. The rosh kollel pitied him and thought that, at most, he could learn Mishnayos, and that his chavrusah was tutoring him.

That lasted until the day the chief rabbi, Rav Yitzchak Issac Haleivi Herzog, came into the kollel to discuss with the yungeleit some serious agunah shailos he was having difficulty with in the wake of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. The brilliant yungeleit he had hoped would be able to help him out of his predicament were unable to assist him in arriving at a halachic solution he was comfortable with.

That was until the new Mishnayos zogger felt an obligation to assist the respected rov with his halachic dilemma. The entire kollel and Rav Herzog sat there in amazement as he provided a brilliant analysis of the issues and assisted the chief rabbi with the difficult agunah shailos that had been tormenting him. From that day on, Rav Herzog regularly visited Rav Elyashiv to talk in learning, establishing a serious relationship with him and promoting him to his post as a dayan on the country’s highest bais din.

For years, the humble Ohel Sarah shul where he learned alone as a bochur was the place he spent much of his days and nights. He literally locked himself in there and learned. As people learned of his greatness and began seeking him out, disturbing his learning, he would lock the door to the small bais medrash so that he wouldn’t be disturbed. People knew that they could only ask him serious shailos which nobody else would be able to answer.

It is from that single-minded dedication to Torah that Rav Elyashiv grew into the giant we have all become dependent on. He stands as a symbol of the greatness man can attain if he applies himself to Torah. There is no limit to what we can achieve. If a sickly, weak individual, with a heart that can barely pump, has been able to master kol haTorah kulah, we, who are healthy, can surely reach high levels and light up the world with our Torah if we dedicate ourselves to it. If Torah becomes as important to us as anything else, we can reach the levels he personifies.

It is a gift to our generation that a person who we have seen and spoken to and studied from can live among us, walk among us, in this day, in this generation, and epitomize a gadlus that the yeitzer hara says is impossible to reach anymore.

The chosson who had no friends, the bochur who had no chavrusah, the yungerman everyone in the kollel thought could only read Mishanyos, the weak father whose young children were afraid was living his last day, the gaon who shunned the limelight, the masmid who locked himself in a small shul, the gadol hador shekol bais Yisroel nishan olov, who has lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, seeking nothing for himself, caused Klal Yisroel’s hearts to skip a beat this week.

Let us learn the lesson of his blessed life so that it will be a zechus for him, and for us, so that he is granted many more years to teach, inspire and learn, ad ki yavo leTzion goel, bimeheirah beyomeinu. Amein.

Levavo Levav Kol Yisroel