Cont'd. from Shabbos Acharei Kedoshim

In the last edition, Rebbetzyn Sarah took her five year old son, Yisrael, to the daily morning minyan to say Kadish for the soul of his father, Rabbi Eliezer. It happened that two men came to the little study room next to the synagogue; and there they sat down to study Torah.
When Sarah's little Yisrael arrived, he heard a sweet chanting that was new to him; and he ran to the small study-room to see what it was. There he found two men whom he didn't know, strangers who weren't from this village, chanting away as they concentrated on their Torah study.

Yisrael listened carefully and heard them discussing the reason why the Sages composed the kaddish - the mourner's prayer that he said in Aramaic and not in Hebrew at every synagogue service. They discussed how it is a very great and holy prayer and there is not another prayer like it. If the angels heard people saying this prayer, they would be intensely jealous that it was not given to them to say - and there might be trouble. So it was composed in Aramaic, which the angels do not understand.

The little boy was gifted with a pious soul. When he entered the synagogue and began saying kaddish, he merely had to close his eyes, and he knew that angels were gathered there to hear his kaddish, and they were jealous indeed that he could say such a beautiful prayers in Aramaic, a language they did not understand. From time to time, Srulik even sensed that his father was also there having come from paradise, the Garden of Eden, to listen with great joy to his kaddish.

There were even times when it was clear to him that as they heard the men in the synagogue answer amen his kaddish, the angels also answered amen. But the little Yisrael found his greatest happiness when, with the eyes of his mind, he could see his father, just as remembered him, nodding his head and moving his lips to answer amen with everyone else.

In the women's section of the little synagogue, his mother Sarah always sat through the morning prayer just to hear him say the kaddish. And whenever she heard the beautiful chant of her "little angel," the poor widow forgot all her troubles. She forgot all hunger and poverty that they suffered at home. She forgot how hard it was to earn a living. Then she became the happiest mother in the whole world. For where was there another boy in the world who could chant the kaddish as sweetly as her little son Yisrael?

Sarah knew well how to keep her secret. She would never tell a soul in the world that Eliyahu haNavi (the prophet) had come to her home to promise that this boy would be born, and he had foretold that the boy would be a wonder-child who would bring the Divine light of holy knowledge to the world.

How well she remembered Eliyahu haNavi (Elijah the Prophet). He had come to her home on the Sabbath, looking like an ordinary poor beggar with his knapsack and walking- stick. And when the Sabbath ended he gave her dear, departed husband and her the wonderful news that this son would be born to them. Often she wondered what holy spirit lived in this little son of hers - most likely some soul that had lived before perhaps in the holy cities of Jerusalem, Safed and Tiberias - a famed, pious soul that now came again into the world to lead, guide and inspire the Jewish people.

On this morning after the men in the synagogue finished Aleynu, the last prayer of the morning service, and little Israel chanted the final kaddish of the morning, as always Rebbetzyn Sarah peered between the curtains that separated the mens and womens sides of the shule so that she could watch him. This time, she noticed that there were two strangers among the men: poor beggars from their looks, who were passing through the village with their knapsacks and walking sticks. Soon, they would probably make the rounds knocking on doors to ask for a bit of money or a little food. But suddenly, it struck her that one of these two strangers looked very much like Eliyahu haNavi, just as he looked on that Sabbath when he came to her home with his wonderful news. She looked again, and knew there could be no mistake. It was the same wonder-spirit from heaven, appearing again on earth as a simple beggar. For a moment she was tempted to call out to the shule goers, "Do you know who that poor man is? It is Eliyahu haNavi?" But then she thought better of it. No, it would not be good to create a big hubbub. She owed that holy man a debt of gratitude for the good news he had brought her and she knew he did not like to have everyone know who he was when he made one of his special appearances on earth. A great happiness filled her heart. How fortunate she was to have seen Eliyahu haNavi not once but twice! But suddenly she had a worrying thought: Perhaps her little boy had not noticed this wondrous "guest" with the knapsack and the walking-stick. She had better tell little Yisrael to go over to him and say Shalom Aleichem. But then she decided not to tell him who the man was, because that would only confuse him.

So she waited for her child at the entrance of synagogue. As soon as he came out, she took him by hand and whispered, "Did you see the new people in synagogue?"

"Oh yes, mother," he replied. "And I heard the one with the knapsack studying Torah."

"Did you say shalom aleichem to him?" asked his mother.

"I certainly did," said the boy, "and he answered back. He was very friendly."

The mother's heart filled with happiness. It could be no mistake: Eliyahu haHavi had come to see her son Yisraellic.

"Tell me," she asked. "Did you hear what he was studying?"

The boy answered immediately, "Yes indeed. And I remember every word."

For a while the mother and her child walked together feeling a deep joy and contentment. Rebbetzyn Sarah was so very happy that her precious son had also seen Eliyahu haNavi, and had spoken to him. Then suddenly she remembered what he had said - that he remembered the Torah that Eliyahu haNavi had studying.

"What was the stranger learning about earlier this morning?" she asked.

"Oh," he replied, "that the sages made the kaddish in Aramaic because the angels do not understand that language, and they shouldn't be jealous of us that we can say such a beautiful prayer and they can't."

It was all the Rebbetzn Sarah could do to keep her from dancing for joy, right there in the street. For now she was sure that Eliyahu haNavi had come mainly to hear her "little angel" say kaddish. When he returned to heaven, he would surely tell her husband, Reb Eliezer, all about the boy. In her great happiness, she embraced her child and kissed him. Still she kept her secret. She thought it best not to tell her child just who the "poor man with the knap sack" was.

It was not long, however, before Israel had a secret of his own, that he kept from his mother.

To be continued next week. . . . .

Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard Cohn Patent Attrorney) from Legends and Stories of the Baal Shem Tov by Rabbi Menachem Gutman

And the L-rd said to Moses: Speak to the priests. . . . . (Leviticus 21:1)

This is what the verse says: "Day to day utters speech" (Psalms 19:3)¹

I heard from my Master (the Baal Shem Tov) a commentary on the verse: "Day to day utters speech, and night to night expresses knowledge." The Sages have said, "A person is judged first² for the time he wasted from Torah study, as it says: 'The beginning of strife is [like] the release of water' (Proverbs 17:14)."³

Does a person really believe that he can escape judgment due to the burden of making a living by day, and the [need to] rest from his work at night? The days of winter contradict this, and the nights of summer destroy [his argument].⁴
Ben Poras Yosef, p. 127c

¹ From the Midrash on this verse (Vayikra Rabbah 26:4).
² In the World to Come.
³Sanhedrin 7a. The simple meaning of this verse is that strife and contentiousness break forth like a gush of water. Water is a classic metaphor for Torah, as in the verse: "Ho, every one that thirsts, come to You for water . . . . . " (Isaiah 55:1). However, the Talmud interprets this verse different: "The beginning of strife" - that is, the beginning of a person's judgment is over "the release of water" - the time he wasted from studying Torah.
⁴In the past, most people would work only until nightfall. The short winter days prove that a person can finish work early and still make a living, thus contradicting the argument that a person must work long hours, leaving himself no time for Torah study. Likewise, the short nights of summer demonstrate that a person can make do with less sleep and still function. Why, then, should he need so much sleep the rest of the year, rather than study Torah?

The connection of this teaching to the verse from Psalm 19 may be that day and night express words that negate a person's arguments. Alternatively, the Midrash that cites this verse (Vayikra Rabbah 26:4), speaks of the day and night as "borrowing" from each other throughout the year. The long summer days borrow hours from the night, and the short summer nights borrow hours from the day. Only on the spring and autumn equinoxes are day and night equal. This is in order to prove to people that there is always time to study Torah.

Translation and commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore.

Section 3.7

Do not recite too many psalms before you pray, so as not to become too weak to recite the obligatory prayers.

Do not recite too many psalms before you pray, so as not to become too weak to recite the obligatory prayers - the Hymns of Praise , the Shema , and the Amidah - with great spiritual attachment. First, recite the main parts with devekus. Then, if G-d gives you more strength, you can say Psalms or the Song of Songs with devekus afterward. On Yom Kippur too, say the prayers of the Machzor before Ne'ilah in a state of Katnut (constricted consciousness), to that you can afterward pray afterwards with devekus.
Tzava'as HaRivash, 38

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

Section 7.

If a person were to come and tell me, "I saw the Baal Shem Tov build a ladder and climb to heaven alive, physically, in his clothing," I would believe him, for whatever they say about the Baal Shem Tov is possible.
The Seer of Lublin, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin (1745-1815)

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

Section 6.

"If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me . . . . ." ( Deuteronomy 1:17)

The Baal Shem Tov taught in the name of the Ramban (Nachmanides), who advised his son the following: "Whenever there are various possible options of how to go about doing something, and you are in doubt as to which is the best way, or if you are in doubt whether or not doing it is at all Gd's will, in which case it should be done, or it is against His will, in which case it should not, do the following. You must first of all disattach yourself from all personal gain or honor you might derive from this action, and only then can you objectively weigh the options, for anything from which one derives any personal gain, one will search to find some way to permit even the forbidden. But after doing as said, G-d will guide you to the truth and you can feel secure that you are doing the right thing."

This, then, is the meaning of the verse, "If any case is too difficult for you," that is, you don't know how or whether at all to do something, the doubt arises from you because of the personal gain that you would derive from doing it. Therefore, disattach yourself from the personal gain you would derive from doing it, and "bring it to Me" - that is, intend to do it for the sake of Heaven, without any motive for personal gain. Then [as the verse concludes], "I will hear it." I will make it heard - I will give that person the understanding how to behave.

Footnote: The Baal Shem Tov adds to the Ramban's teaching that all doubts and difficulties we confront in life arise from our being out of touch with G-d and with our deepest selves. Instead, we live superficially, from momentary and ephemeral physical pleasure to the next momentary and ephemeral emotional gain, completely out of touch with what our souls deeply crave and need. We are thus torn in different directions at once, for we all have conflicting desires and interests. Only when we are able to see through those pleasures and gains, and touch with our deepest needs and with G-d, are we able to act assuredly from a place of Truth.
(Sfas Emes, Deuteronomy 5631; Likkutim, Lekh Lekhah)

Translation and commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett.

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