23 August 2026
WELCOME BACK - Rav Yehuda Richter: Jews! Wake Up And Smell The Coffee
Jews! Wake Up And Smell The Coffee | Rabbi Yehuda Richter
Rabbi Michoel Green: Exciting News
Happy Announcement:
Yeshiva of Appalachia is opening its doors for year-round learning this Elul and inviting bochurim ages 14-16 to join.Faraway from city life and surrounded by pristine nature, the Yeshiva combines the joys of Torah learning with healthy & nutritious living, wholesome environment, and farm life.
Please contact me for more information. westbororabbi@substack.com Phone number in Flyer
Rebbetzen Tziporah All About ELUL and Teshuva
Dear family and friends,
First of all, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your kind wishes for a refuah sheleimah for my husband, Dovid ben Sarah. He is, baruch Hashem, getting stronger, for which we owe Hashem great praise and thanks. He went back to his shiur in yeshiva today, something that would have been unimaginable last week.
“There is no time like the present.” What a cliché – if you don’t notice how Hashem created the world with its amazing and as-yet-unknown complexity. Everything has a purpose. This includes time – every moment has its own reason and message.
When Hashem created the sun and the moon, He made it possible for us to measure time. He told us that what we are looking for are “osos” (signs) and “moadim” (times of meeting).
The months are called chodesh, each one having its chiddush. A chiddush in Torah does not necessarily mean inventing something new. It can mean revealing something that was already contained within the Torah but had not yet been articulated or perceived. This Elul reveals something about what Elul is in ways that have not yet been seen.
Elul, like all of the months, have names that are Aramaic. We retained these names to demonstrate that exile itself can’t disguise the continual chiddush of Hashem’s involvement in our collective life as a people and in each of our individual lives. What does the word Elul mean? Onkelos uses this word when translating the Hebrew verb used to tell us what the spies Moshe sent on their disastrous trip to Eretz Yisrael were meant to do. It means to search out, explore, and investigate. The territory we explore in Elul is the most overwhelmingly beautiful of Hashem’s creations – our souls.
TIKKUN AND TAFKID
The complexity that you can’t help but see when you look at yourself in the spiritual mirror called your conscience can be overwhelming. You are in Hashem’s image, but you can forget to look for Him in your soul, where He is always present.
You have all heard the way the Baal HaTanya described Elul – he called it the time when the King is in the field. Usually, in order to have any genuine communication with a King, you have to fight your way through His bureaucracy. Once a year, in the parable, He leaves His palace and goes to you, to your turf, your field.
Sounds good?
Maybe.
Imagine how you would feel on a particularly hectic short Friday afternoon. You gave in to the part of you that wanted a second cup of coffee and a leisurely glance at the headlines. You stopped, but nothing else did. The clock is still ticking. The kids want lunch. The unfolded laundry is smiling at you from the couch, and the chicken is informing you of the fact that it is defrosted by the mini-puddle on your kitchen floor just below the counter.
There is a knock on the door.
You take a quick peek. The distinguished guest you were thrilled to learn had accepted your invitation is waiting with a warm, cordial smile, their arms loaded with hostess gifts.
You wish there were a way to avoid opening the door. Oy vay! The King is in the field. Your field…
FOR SOME PEOPLE, THAT IS ELUL.
The problem here is that you assume that the mess you may have made of some aspects of your life – as we all have – is humiliating, and now you will have to face the consequences from the Creator who you perceive as angry and rejective.
Use a new word.
TIKKUN
You can step back and hear a voice from the other side of the door as it opens:
“I’m here to help you make things work.”
You open the door, and the light that doesn’t lend itself to description comes in with a feeling of both hope and faith.
There is a mess. For some, it is uncertainty. For others, insecurity. For others, selfishness. For others, impulsivity or addiction.
As soon as you open the door, your feeling changes from despair and shame to looking at the mess. The King is saying, “I know what to do, and so do you – I will help you rediscover Myself in you. You can do it.”
The Baal Shem Tov said that knowing your tikkun is what you learn when you see your imperfections. You were created to fix something in yourself, in your inner world, and in your relationship to the outer world.
You aren’t alone in Elul or at any time, but in Elul you can explore.
The King is in the field.
Here are a few words I am paraphrasing from Rabbi Wegbreit’s famous Elul chart.
WRONG WAY TO BEGIN
1. STAY IN YOUR COMFORT ZONE.
2. LEARN ABOUT TSHUVAH, FIND IT INTERESTING, AND GO BACK TO THE COFFEE.
Instead, let your mind speak to your heart.
3. LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL DEEDS AND LET THEM FILL YOU WITH GUILT, RATHER THAN LOOKING AT THE ROOT CAUSES AND GIVING THEM A NEW ADDRESS.
4. PRIORITIZE STRINGENCIES PRACTICED BY TZADIKIM RATHER THAN EXAMINING YOUR REAL LIFE AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE HASHEM CHOSE TO SURROUND YOU WITH.
5. FOCUS ONLY ON WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT YOURSELF WITHOUT GETTING RID OF THE HABITS THAT CONCEAL THEM AND THE MIDDOS THAT DISTORT THEM.
RIGHT WAY TO BEGIN
1. QUESTION YOUR HISTORY AND LEARN WHAT MIDDOS NEED TO BE SHIFTED.
2. ELIMINATE ALL FORMS OF NEGATIVE SPEECH.
3. WATCH OUT FOR ANGER, IMPATIENCE, AND ARROGANCE.
4. STOP PERIODICALLY AND LET YOURSELF FEEL THE JOY OF A MITZVAH ONCE YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE BUILDING A NEW ASPECT OF THE WAY JOY CAN TRANSFORM EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR LIFE.
5. AVOID INAPPROPRIATE GENDER ISSUES – THIS IS WHERE KEDUSHAH CAN BEGIN.
Now you are ready to rediscover your tafkid – the specific role you can play in your life and in the world.
Tshuvah means returning to Hashem, not despising yourself or losing track of your identity.
Guilt can be constructive only when you believe that under the layers there is something beautiful and unique that only you can express. Tshuvah will give you new access to yourself.
The key is compassion for the part of you that is the mirror image of Hashem’s galus HaShechinah, the exile of His presence.
Your tafkid is one in which the real you can come forth. It’s Hashem’s belief in you that made you the person you are, with your inherent biological imprints, your specific environment, living today with the choices you made yesterday, and the habits that may feel like they are the real you, when they are just camouflage that hides the real you.
Hashem is helping you discover, explore, and renew.
Enjoy every moment.
Love,
Tziporah
We Are Intrinisically Neshomas!! [Part I]
Some words i read recently have not left me. It changes my understanding and outlook in many ways.
I am a Neshoma, not just a body of flesh, bones and sinews, and blood.
My Neshoma was sent down here for a specific purpose.
Sometimes it takes years and many experiences to realize this emmes and act upon this understanding.
WE ARE ALL NESHOMOS
When you look at a fellow Jew, peer into his/her eyes and acknowledge that Neshoma.
Like you, they too have a purpose here in our world of action.
We all need to realize this and stop reacting, responding to what we “see” but what is really before you.
You may read these words and think, “of course, i know that.”
Knowing and Internalizing are two different realities. Think about that. Think hard about it.
Now some of you may walk away from this.
And maybe one or two may come to your own realization.
That Neshoma is connected to Hashem “intrinsically”.
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"Intrinsically linked" means that two or more things are connected by their very nature. Their bond is natural, deep, and permanent. They are tied together because of what they are, not because of outside forces [0.5]. You cannot truly separate them. [google ai def.]
So What Are We Supposed To Do With That Understanding? [Part II]
[read first: We Are Intrinisically Neshomas]
What do we do next?
We communicate that Neshoma with our Creator.
How?
We can convey directly what is in our minds and hearts.
Hashem ‘communicates’ back to us.
Through our Neshoma, or in His very Words.
How?
Either directly via thoughts that are transmitted to us; or
Via experiences in our lives that make this apparent.
The Torah, Chumash, are His Words and Wishes to us.
The Gemora, Bavli and Yerushalmi, are thousands of years of discussions explaining and dissecting the meanings of those Words by those who read and learned them before us.
Its not so simple, you may realize.
Irs a life-long endeavor.
Only after we pass over to the other side will we truly understand.
Nevertheless we must continue……
Something Strange Going On Up North.....
Is there some kind of a 'bigfoot' roaming in the Galil or......
People going lost, or disappearing? If anyone can understand this video's message, please explain in comments below.
21 August 2026
Dan ben Yaakov Ovinu zt"l
Dan ben Yaakov Ovinu zt"l
הרב דן בן יעקב זצ"ל
Elul 9 , 2318
Father's Name: Yaakov Avinu
Born on the 9th of Elul, Alef’ Kuf Tzadi Beis, Dan was the son of Yaakov Avinu and Bilhah. He was Yaakov’s fifth child and Bilhah’s first (Bereishis 30:6).
Dan lived for 125 years. According to the Yaabetz, all the Shevatim died on their birthdays, so Dan’s yahrtzeit is the 9th of Elul. He was laid to rest on the mountain near Eshtaol Forest (Shoftim 13:25) [approx. a ten-minute drive from Beit Shemesh].
Dan lived for 125 years. According to the Yaabetz, all the Shevatim died on their birthdays, so Dan’s yahrtzeit is the 9th of Elul. He was laid to rest on the mountain near Eshtaol Forest (Shoftim 13:25) [approx. a ten-minute drive from Beit Shemesh].
Higher up, at the top of the same mountain, are the kevarim of Shimshon HaGibor and his father, Manoach.
Dan’s son Chushim (Bereishis 46:23) was hard of hearing, and he beheaded Esav during Yaakov’s funeral for holding up the burial, in Kiryas Arba at Me’aras Hamachpelah (see Talmud Bavli, Maseches Sotah 13a).
אלול בעטרת שלמה: קליפ עוצמתי מסכם מפתיחת זמן אלול על ידי 1350 תלמידי הישיבה בהתמדת התורה
This Holds Up The World!
20 August 2026
Rabbi Wein – Ki Teitzei
Jewish homiletical tradition identifies the “enemy” in the opening verse of this parsha not only as an external foe, but also as the evil instinct within the warrior himself. In the immortal words of the famous cartoon character Pogo, “we have met the enemy and they are us!” This is in consonance with the words of the Talmud that the opening topic of the parsha – marriage to the attractive woman, a non-Jewish captive – has specific reference to one’s own struggle with the basic desires and evil instincts that bedevil us all.
The true struggle in life is therefore not really against others who may not wish us well as much as it is against our own conflict-torn nature. Temptations, both physical and monetary, and power-driven ambitions abound in our everyday existence. Falsehoods, lame excuses, or the feeling that “everyone does it” and that one will never get caught up and publicly exposed in the scam or scandal are the weapons of the enemy that lurk within us, preying on our built-in weaknesses.
Unless one truly realizes how vulnerable each and every one of us is regarding our internal enemy, there is little hope of creating effective defensive strategies to combat it. The haughty arrogance of unwarranted self-righteousness is one of the most serious moral and personal defects that a person may possess.
This is the message that the Talmud delivers to us when it states that one who sins and yet remains confident that one will later be able to repent and cancel the sin, is never able to truly repent of that sin. One should not underestimate the enemy that lies within us.
The month of Elul traditionally was set aside as a particular time when that internal enemy was to be identified and confronted. In our busy and crowded world, our schedules allow precious little time to think about our true selves - our goals and the purpose of our existence. Our enemy confounds and confuses us with all of the myriad details, pettinesses and distractions that our super busy world inflicts upon us.
Rabbi Yisrael of Salant was once asked if one has only ten minutes a day to study Torah, should one study Talmud or Mussar (the ethical teachings of Judaism.) He answered that one should study Mussar for then he would come to realize that he has much more time than just ten minutes in the day to study Torah. By that Rabbi Yisrael outlined his method of confronting the inner enemy that convinces us that we are unable to improve, that we are too weak or habit-stricken or that we are simply too busy and preoccupied with other issues to think about ourselves.
Ignoring the enemy is the surest way of being defeated by it. I think that tradition placed such an emphasis on the month of Elul, for it is the self-confrontation that this month indicates to us that is the strongest weapon in our spiritual arsenal. In preparation for the days of awe and judgment that are soon upon us, let us use this time wisely and efficiently.
Shabat shalom
Rabbi Berel Wein
This article is from 2013 / 5773
Rabbi WInston: Parashas Ki Seitzei
THERE IS A midrash I saw years ago about Eliyahu HaNavi meeting a fisherman that became relevant for a new book I am just finishing, b”H. It’s especially powerful at this time of year, and it goes like this:
Once I was walking from place to place and I found a man who did not know any verses or mishnah, and he would joke and make fun of things. He came before me so I asked him, “My son, what will you answer to your Father in Heaven on the Day of Judgment?” He told me, “Rebi, I have an answer. Wisdom and knowledge have not been given to me from Heaven to read and to learn.” So I asked him, "What work do you do?” He answered me, “I'm a fisherman." I asked him, “My son, who taught you this, and told you to bring flax and weave it into nets and then throw them into the sea to catch fish?” He answered me, “Rebi, for this I was given understanding and knowledge from Heaven!” I asked him, “To find flax and weave nets and throw them into the sea and catch fish you have been given wisdom and knowledge from Heaven, but for Torah, in which it says, ’For the thing is very near to you in your mouth and in your heart to do it’ (Devarim 30:14) they have not given you wisdom and knowledge from Heaven?” Immediately he raised his voice, cried, and moaned. I told him, “Don’t take it so harshly because many people will answer the same answer, but their work will be proof against them!” (Tanna d'Bei Eliyahu, Eliyahu Zuta 14)
The message: Just because something doesn’t come naturally or easily to you doesn’t mean it is not relevant to you. It may just mean you have to want it enough for God to give it to you, and that may be your test in life. So, before you say some mitzvah is not for you, ask God to give what you need to change that.
We can use this line of thinking to understand something from the parsha. The Torah starts off talking about the captive woman taken by a Jewish soldier during war, which it certainly doesn’t promote. However, rather than confront the man’s yetzer hara head on which doesn’t usually go to well, the Torah instructs the man in how to halachically do it, and the obligations that come with it.
One such obligation is, “And it will be, if you do not desire her, then you shall send her away wherever she wishes” (Devarim 21:14), regarding which Rashi comments and says, “The Torah is telling you that you will eventually despise her.”
It is? The Torah only says that if you happen to eventually to not desire her, not that you will for sure despise her. What compelled the Sifrei that Rashi quoted to take the Torah’s statement to such an extreme?
For the same reason why Amnon hated Tamar more than he loved her after he forced himself on her. She had still been the same righteous woman she was when Amnon became infatuated with her, so what was there to hate?
Himself. To look at her was to recall his own barbaric act and make him loathe himself. And being the coward that he was, rather than blame himself and try to rectify the situation somewhat, he blamed her for how he felt about himself. And the same is going to be true of the soldier who capitulates to his yetzer hara and desires a woman he shouldn’t.
It’s the way we’re wired. We have a body that controls so much of everyday life, but also a soul that constantly begs us to live up to a higher standard. It creates inner friction that pushes some people to drown it out by increasing their volume of their material life, and others to soul search and spiritually improve.
All Eliyahu had to do to wake the fisherman up to his self-delusion was point out the truth he had been overlooking. Once he heard it, his soul said, “Exactly! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for the longest time!” The body crumbled at that moment, and he woke up to the ridiculousness of his rationalization.
It’s a truth that applies to everyone, and it is up to each individual to figure out where in their life to apply it.
I will be giving a two-part series on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur b”H on Monday, August 24 and Monday, August 31, called “Renewal & Rebirth.” The classes will be on Zoom at 8:15 pm Israel time, but recorded for registrants to watch on their own time.
You can register using this link: https://www.matara.pro/nedarimplus/online/?mosad=7014140, or write to me at pinchasw@shaarnun.org if you prefer an alternative means.
Have a great Shabbos,
Pinchas Winston
Reb Neuberger: THE DANGERS OF DEMOCRACY
“Ki seitzei l’milchama … when you go out to war….”
That is how our Parsha begins. How appropriate are these words to our current era, as we are at war on many levels.
We are at war spiritually. As we near the Yomim Noraim, we are aware of the battle within us, to cleanse our neshoma, to guard our eyes, our tongues and our hearts from the toxic temptations and provocations which fly in every direction in this chaotic world. How do we focus on Hashem and His healing Torah? How do we protect ourselves? This is a war we must win!
Then there is the political world, which seems every day to edge closer to a conflagration which could easily escalate to proportions which no one could control, the effects of which no person could escape.
And then there is the war being fought on the streets and the media of countries around the world, the war against us, the Children of Israel, the individual Jew and the Jewish Nation as a whole.
A gadol once said, “Democracy is the world’s worst form of government.”
Most of us grew up in a world which seemed basically sane. We assumed that the majority was good and that government would function for the benefit of law-abiding, peaceful people. But what happens if the majority are callous, brainless, or – sorry about this – downright evil? What happens then?
You think it cannot happen?
In New York City a majority (including many Jews) voted for a chief executive who does not attempt to hide his hatred for Am Yisroel. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler y’mak shemo was appointed Chancellor of Germany, having risen to this office through the legally-constituted electoral process. This is what can happen in a democracy.
In last week’s Parsha we read, “You shall surely set a king over yourselves whom G-d will choose….” (Dvarim 17:15) And, of course, the king of Israel must himself be subservient at every moment to the Ribono shel Olam. “Kingship in Israel should be permeated with the spirit of the Torah and should be only a means of directing the nation to the Torah.” (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch)
As we near the Yomim Noraim, our mission is not just to insulate ourselves from the spiritual poison which pollutes our world, but also to understand that the myths on which we have been raised are just that: myths.
If I am correct, there is going to be a revolution in our world that is beyond what mankind has seen before. It is becoming clear that “old-fashioned” democracy is imploding before our eyes. As I see it, this entire structure – built after all by the sons of Edom who have constructed the culture called “Western Civilization” – this structure is trembling and crumbling just as the mighty empire of Mitzraim crumbled and collapsed in the days of our ancestors. In the words of Dovid ha Melech, “They do not know nor do they understand. In darkness they walk. All foundations of the earth collapse.” (Tehillim 82)
The coming upheaval will far surpass in magnitude the collapse of Ancient Egypt, but the new world will shine with the glory of the All-Mighty G-d and will never collapse. It is up to us to prepare ourselves and not cling to the old structure.
The Chofetz Chaim is reported to have said that, in the war directly before the coming of Moshiach, the Angel of Death will not have power to harm those who cling with all their strength to Hashem and who reject the culture of the surrounding nations. Those who stick like glue to Hashem and His Torah will survive and go on to live in the Days of Moshiach.” (Heard from Rav Matisyahu Salomon zt”l)
I saw a similar statement in the name of Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein zt”l, who said, “In the final war before the coming of Moshiach, all the Jews who fear Hashem will survive. Hashem will say to them, ‘All those who are removed from the secular, worldly culture … you are Mine!’” (Seen in Redemption Unfolding)
May we live to see those glorious days!
Democracy
GLOSSARY
Dovid ha Melech: King David
Gadol: a great rabbi
Mitzraim: Ancient Egypt
Parsha: Torah portion
Ribono shel Olam: King of the Universe, G-d
Ymak shemo: may his name be erased
Yomim Noraim: Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
Am Yisrael is Coming Home…..
Powerful words tonight from Eliya Cohen under his Chuppah. Eliya was held in Hamas Captivity for over 500 days and has just one thing to say to Hashem:
“Thank You”
After 505 days in Hamas captivity, Eliya Cohen tonight stood under the chuppah with his kallah, Ziv Abud, who survived the horrors of the “death shelter” at the Nova massacre while Eliya was taken hostage to Gaza.
With tears in his eyes, Eliya recited Shema Yisrael together with the guests and thanked Hashem for the countless Nissim that brought them to this moment. After 505 days in Gaza, he was finally standing under the chuppah beside his kallah, building the Jewish home they fought so hard for. From captivity to freedom. From darkness to light.
See this moving video https://x.com/AkivaAckerman/status/2090197374702432699
19 August 2026
❤️ אהבת ישראל! המסר העוצמתי של מרן פוסק הדור הגר"י זילברשטיין שליט"א לחיזוק שמירת הלשון 📢
מעמד ייסוד כולל 'חפץ חיים בעיון' בביהכ"נ 'חניכי הישיבות – כרם ישראל' נערך בראשות מרן פוסק הדור הגר"י זילברשטיין שליט"א | במרכז המעמד חשף רבינו מעשה מדהים מימי ילדותו בעיירת 'בנדין' שבפולין, וחידד את המסר העולה: 'שמירת הלשון מלמדת אותנו להתמקד בטוב של הזולת'! | במעמד השתתפו גדולי התורה: הגה"צ רמ"ש אדלשטיין שליט"א, הגאון הגדול ר"א גרבוז שליט"א | צפו:
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"אם אתה אוהב כל יהודי – לא שייך לדבר עליו לשון הרע"!
את המעמד פתח חתדב"נ, הגאון רבי אליעזר רוט שליט"א: "יש יהודי יקר שקשור למו"ח מרן שליט"א, קוראים לו הרב יצחק גלר. הוא היה גר פה בשכונה, והוא מרצה בכל מיני מקומות. ובכל פעם לפני שהוא מרצה, הוא מגיע לכולל שלנו – 'נתיבות המשפט' (עם הנדיב הרב רמי פלר), והוא מכין את הדרשות שלו. לפני כמה שנים הוא הגיע לכולל, אז ביקשתי ממנו שיאמר לפני האברכים מה שעומד לדרוש.
"אז הוא סיפר כך: 'יש רופא שיניים חרדי ד"ר זוהר עשור, שהיה גר שמונה שנים פה קרוב וגם הוא תלמיד גדול של מו"ח הרב שליט"א, והוא סיפר שהרב זילברשטיין היה אצלו בטיפול שיניים. ופנה הד"ר לרב ושאל אותו: 'יש לי שאלה, אני רואה שבלי עין הרע השיניים של הרב כולן שלמות, אך מצד התעודת זהות זה לא מסתדר'..., אז הרב זילברשטיין ענה לו שהשיניים האלה מעולם לא דיברו לשון הרע!'.
"עד כאן סיפר הרב גלר בדרשתו, אז אני אמרתי לו שזה סיפור יפה, ובאמת אני לא שמעתי מהשווער שלי אף פעם לשון הרע, אבל אני אשאל אותו בעצמו אם זה נכון. ובליל שב"ק אמרתי למו"ח שליט"א: 'לא נעים לי לשאול שאלה, הרב גלר מספר בשם ד"ר עשור שהרב העיד על עצמו שמעולם לא דיבר לשון הרע, אז יש לי שתי שאלות. שאלה ראשונה: האם זה נכון?, ושאלה שניה: איך זה יכול להיות נכון?
"אז מו"ח הרב שליט"א תפס את השיניים ואמר לי: 'השיניים האלה מעולם לא דיברו לשון הרע, אבל אני לא מבין את השאלה שלך, אם אתה אוהב כל יהודי לא שייך לדבר עליו לשון הרע. אני אוהב כל יהודי, לא משנה מה הוא. אם אני אוהב כל יהודי אז לא שייך לדבר עליו לשון הרע".
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"שמירת הלשון מלמדת אותנו לחפש את התיקון ולהתמקד בטוב"!
לאחר מכן נשא רבינו שליט"א את המשא המרכזי: "אני נולדתי בעיירת 'בנדין' שבפולין, וההורים שלי היו מאוד קרובים אליו, והמרא דאתרא שם היה הרב מבנדין, הגה"צ רבי חנוך צבי הכהן לוין זצוק"ל, והיה מעשה נורא שם בעיירה: היה חסיד שנכנס להתפלל ופשט את החליפה שלו, ושם היה את כל הנדוניה שהכין לנישואי בתו. הוא יצא, גמר את התפילה, והוא רואה שגנבו לו את כל הכסף, ומיד והתעלף.
"העירו אותו ושוב התעלף, ושוב התעלף. אז קראו לרב מבנדין, והוא אמר ככה: 'אני אעשה פה תיבה קטנה ואני רוצה להודיע קבל עם ועדה, אם הגנב ישיב אני אברך אותו, אך אם הוא לא ישיב אני אקלל אותו ואגיד לו יימח שמך וזכרך'.
"וזה דבר שהרב מבנדין מעולם לא עשה, לומר על יהודי ימ"ש, וכמובן כעבור שעה הכול היה בחזרה. הלך הרב מבנדין ואמר ככה: 'הוא קיים מצוות עשה דאורייתא של 'והשיב את הגזילה אשר גזל', שזה מצה שלא כל אחד זוכה לקיים אותה, וגם מצוה של 'וחי בהם', כיון שבעל הכסף היה בסכנה גדולה. ואני רוצה לברך אותו שיהיה לו כל טוב, ויתברך שמו, ויהיה לשם ולתפארת בישראל. ובקשה אחת יש לי: לא לחקור מי היה הגנב'.
"ואמרו כל העם אמן. חמשת אלפים איש צעקו 'אמן' שבקע את השמיים, זה הסיפור שרציתי לספר. מה הסיפור כאן? אני לא מאמין שהרב מבנדין שהיה איש אלוקים קדוש, אני לא מאמין שפעם אחת בחייו קילל יהודי. אני לא מאמין. יותר נכון אני כן מאמין שמעולם לא קילל חוץ מאותה פעם, הוא היה אוהב ישראל בדרגה הכי גבוהה לפי ההשגות שלנו, וגם ספריו 'יכהן פאר' הם נפלאים ממש. וכאן עשה מה שעשה כדי להציל את אותו אחד שנגנב ממונו, ויש הרבה מוסר השכל ללמוד ממעשה זה".
רבינו ביאר שבחר במעשה זה כמוסר השכל אדיר שמתווה דרך סלולה וברורה גם בהלכות לשון הרע, להשתדל תמיד לראות הכל בעין טובה ולדון לכף זכות, וכמו כן למדים אנו מהקפידה של הרב מבנדין שלא לחקור מי הוא הגנב, ולא לנטות אחר הסקרנות הטבעית ולא לביישו ברבים.
וכמו כן לרכוש את היכולת להסתכל על מי שטעה ולראות את הצעד החיובי שעשה כעת (השבת הנדוניה והצלת חיים), ולבחור לחזק ולברך אותו, במקום לרדוף ולבייש אותו, כך שבמקום להגדיר אדם לפי הכישלון שלו, מתמקדים בנקודת התיקון ובצעד החיובי שהוא עושה עכשיו.
לאחר מכן שוררו הכל עם רבינו 'תהא השעה הזאת שעת רחמים ועת רצון מלפניך', כשלסיום בירך רבינו את כל הנוכחים והמשתתפים: "ברוך השם נמצאים פה כעת גדולי התלמידי חכמים של הדור, נבקש מהקדוש ברוך הוא שירחם עלינו ויושיע אותנו, שנזכה להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה, וחס ושלום שכעת אנחנו בדברים סכנות גדולות מפני הערבים, שלא ישלטו בנו, ונהפוך הוא אשר ישלטו היהודים המה בשונאיהם, אמן".
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WELCOME BACK - Rav Yehuda Richter: Jews! Wake Up And Smell The Coffee
Jews! Wake Up And Smell The Coffee | Rabbi Yehuda Richter
