Gidon’s Lech B’kochacha Zeh: Defending Klal Yisrael by Sharing Their Pain and Taking Action

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Be'ezras Hashem Yisbarach, we were discussing the shofet Gideon. We left off in the middle in discussing who Gideon was and why he was chosen to be the shofet. We spoke about the emunah, al viseinu sipru lanu, and we also said that im yirtzeh Hashem this week we shall speak about the ma'alah and the zechus that Gideon was sanegor l'Yisrael. We spoke—this is perek vav, kapitel vav, in the pesukim, pesukim yud-daled, pasuk yud-daled. So we spoke last week, pasuk yud-gimmel, that the malach approaches Gideon, vayomer eilav, Gideon, bi adoni, vayei'eh Hashem imanu, v'lamah metz'asanu kol zos? V'ayei kol nifl'osav asher sipru lanu avoseinu, saying, 'Where are all the miracles? Why in Mitzrayim were there miracles, and now Klal Yisrael is suffering terrible? V'atah natashanu Hashem, why?' Says the pasuk that a direct result of this taina, of this discussion that he has with the malach, Vayifen eilav Hashem, vayomer, Lech b'kochacha zeh. You triggered something. This koach that you have, take this koach, v'hoshaas es Yisrael mikaf Midyan, halo shelachticha. I send you, I picked you, I've chosen you. You're going to be the next shofet, the next moshia. What is b'kochacha zeh? What did he show? What was this tremendous koach that Gideon shows, and because of this, as a result, he's chosen? So there's a discussion in the mefarshim, the Ralbag and the Radak learn pashut: he had courage. Gideon had courage, conviction. The malach comes to him, another person would be startled. Malach, discussion, and nothing fazes him. He's there at tainas chovos for Klal Yisrael. He shows courage. He shows gevurah, strength. Lech b'kochacha zeh. Take this strength of yours, this courage, the fact that you have in yourself gevurah, and continue. And as the Ralbag and the Radak point out, the Ribono Shel Olam says, I'll add to that. Yoyev chochmah lachachim, those that are wise get extra wisdom from the Ribono Shel Olam. You show that you're brave, you have courage, conviction, I will add to that, and with this you'll be matzliach shlachticha on your mission. This would be the pashut pshat, yet Rashi turns to the Medrash, the Tanchuma, that says, b'koichacho, that he was melamed sanegoria al Yisrael. Zogt Rashi, b'koichacho zeh, b'koach hazechus hazeh, shelamadתו sanegoria al banai. Kach darash Reb Tanchuma. The zechus, the zechus, the zechus shelimadתו sanegoria al banai, that you spoke positive words of protecting, protecting Klal Yisrael, zechus k'tainit for the Klal Yisrael, mimeila, loch b'koichacho zeh. The Malbim, interestingly, learns that actually it was the kibud av va'eim that caught, so to speak, the eye of the malach. In the beginning of the perek, pasuk seems to go out of his way to elaborate on where this encounter with the malach took place. It was in the fields of his father. Says the pasuk, what was he doing in the fields of his father? He was doing the avodas karka, the work. Rashi quotes the Medrash that says that why was he doing this?

The thing is that his father, in case he gets attacked by the Midyan, he won't be able to defend himself. He's younger, he's stronger, he's quicker on his feet. So in case Midyan attacks, so obviously whenever they saw someone out in the field, open target, they went and they attacked. Pasuk says, Vayomer, Vayomel malach Hashem, vayeish tachseila Hashem b'Ofrah, asher l'Yoash Avi HaEzri, v'Gideon bno choveit chitim bagas. He was doing work in the field, l'hanis mipnei Midyan. And the Rashi and the meforshim explain, what does it mean, l'hanis? It's in order to protect his father, that his father should be able to escape in case there's an attack from the Midyanim on the field. Says the Malbim, that's the b'koach hachosen, this zechus. In the zechus of kibud av v'eim, he should put himself in such danger, sacrificing himself for the sake of his father. It's a kibud av v'eim, and in this zechus, you've been chosen. Azoi learned the Malbim. Last week we will mazbir what's the shaychus, the kesher, to the kibud av v'eim. So we said, Rabbi Seinu, Sifru lanu, maybe it has to do with the emunah, that he ties his emunah back to the fact that the father told him. And so, the kibud av v'eim is part of the story here. It's all about, as given a good kind, he was a son to his father, and he accepted the emunah from his father, which is interesting, because we're going to learn from the Midrashim and the Zohar that actually someone here was completely off the derech. It might even have been Gideon himself. Some Midrashim say he was a koimer ben koimer. Either way, for sure, his father was definitely not someone that you would look up to and respect. We spoke about this at great length last week. The Zohar speaks that he was a koimer. He seemed to have been a ... detata. A koimer is a priest. A priest, correct. A priest, the son of a priest. Yes. According to the Midrashim, and I try to say it, instead of saying rasha ben rasha, I say koimer ben koimer, which is really where the Zohar says it. The point being, he didn't come from an illustrious rabbinic family. That's the point we're trying to bring out. And af al pi kein, detata detata detata, my father said, my father said, my father said, and he respects his father and he's mechabed his father. Then we spoke in halacha: is there a halacha to respect the father who is a koimer, who is off the derech? We discussed this last week. Getting back to our point, how does the Kibud Av Va'em fit in with Rashi's pshat? Rashi seems to learn that it was about shelamadto Sanigurya al bonai. Is there a connection, the Kibud Av Va'em, to that part of the dimension of the story? Does the schus of Kibud Av Va'em have a shaychus to the fact that he was melamed sanigurya al Yisrael? At first glance, it doesn't. What's one have to do with the other? Found in the ksavim of Rav Simcha Zissel, Chochma U'Mussar, he connects the two, as we will elaborate as the shiur continues. Rav Simcha Zissel takes the two inyanim, the fact that he had Kibud Av Va'em, together with the sanigurya, and he says it's actually all the same sugya, the same inyan. It's the same maila, the same zechus, as we will explain. But we first have to understand what is this inyan of melamed sanigoria, that he was melamed sanigoria, to protect, to defend Klal Yisroel. What's the point of it? What's the maila? What's so special if someone's melamed sanigoria on Klal Yisroel? Now, the Eibishter knows either Klal Yisroel deserves or doesn't deserve. I mean, we're not in a court, so to speak, that the Rabbeinu Shlelem needs to be convinced by a defendant to defend Klal Yisroel. A jury needs defendants, needs someone to defend the victim. And by the Rabbeinu Shlelem, how is this negeia? How is this so important that you're melamed sanigoria, whatever it is, it is. ... We'll talk about Moshe Rabbeinu. Let's discuss. You see, okay, we'll discuss. We're going to get to the bottom of it. What's the maila of it? What is the point of sanigoria? Sanigoria means to defend Klal Yisroel, to protect the honor of Klal Yisroel and talk in a way that's positive, zechus, that even though Klal Yisroel might falter, they're not holding by much, but listen, it's Klal Yisroel, they have a zechus, help them, do for them.

The inyan of melamed zchusanigurya al Klal Yisroel. So I saw a Chochmah UMusar, chelek aleph, page kuf pei tes, where Rav Simcha Zissel explains that the ma'alah of it is to be mishtatef b'tzaaran shel Yisroel. It's about caring. It's about being, so to speak, showing concern for Klal Yisroel. Could be it doesn't do much. Could be there's not much strength or any ramifications from the saniguria, but the mere fact that it bothers you, that you bring up the issue, is called mishtatef b'tzaaran shel Yisroel. Is it the same type of thing like that someone in our generation who momsh filled the tzaar of the whole Klal Yisroel? Is that the type of— Yes, that's the point. The point is it's not so much what you say, it's that it concerns you to say it, is what the Ribono Shel Olam finds favorable. I'm going to read you the words of Rav Simcha Zissel, because it was a little bit interesting chiddush. To me it was a big chiddush that that's basically what saniguria of Klal Yisroel boils down to. Says the Rav Simcha Zissel, v'hinei muchach mizeh, ki hameitiv im Klal Yisroel mamash kaviyachol, ki'ilu heitiv laKadosh Baruch Hu. So he explains, so therefore we find that Moshe Rabbeinu for forty years, mamash like what you brought out, that for forty years Moshe Rabbeinu was the—why? Because he defended. He defended Klal Yisroel by the eigel and many other places. And he says in Shoftim, our story, we find the same thing: Leit b'koacha zeh, b'koach hazchus shelamad saniguria. Peirush. Explains of some chasidish, shenishtatef b'tzaaron d'Yisrael, l'havin gadl ha'inyan shelo misatef b'tzaar shel others. Af yochid, that this teaches us how important it is to be mishtatef in the tzaar of others. Now, if you look further on in the Chochmah UMussar, actually in page kuf tzadi gimmel, he goes through the topic somewhat again, and there he adds an interesting ha'arah. What exactly did Gidon say that was so sanegurya l'Yisrael? You know, Rashi uses the word, he brought up a zechus. I don't see the zechus really; he didn't really say very much. You know what a zechus would be? Zechus would be, l'choira, if I came and I said, You see, Klal Yisrael does this. Actually, look at something else that they do, better, different. Don't focus on this bad; focus on this good. That would be a zechus, right? Isn't that what I would call zechus? Zechus would mean I bring up something which merits them, something that's something positive that they do. Just to give you an example, to show you the extreme of zechus and chov. We all know the Slabodka, the Baal Tzeshuva used to find zechusim; that was his big thing, the sanegurya. So he always used to say, when people did aveiros, Chaverim, take a look, at least they're ashamed; they do it in private. Look at the zechus that they have. If they were really so bad, they would do it out more in the open and they wouldn't be embarrassed. So that's to try to find the zechus. Within the chay. I mean, here he says nothing. He's just taining, ayei kol nifloisav? Where are the miracles? Why? That's not a zechus. That's not a Sanigoria. They would have seen the miracles, maybe they would have been better. Oh, I'll tell you, it's a very nice pshat, and the truth is you should be embarrassed that you said it. Nobody says it. Nobody. Nobody points out that ayei kol nifloisav was that had they only seen the zechusim. It's a very nice pshat, and maybe they'd be better. Pashut pshat means, Ribono Shel Olam, I taina, why don't you help them? Why don't you help them is not a limud zechus. Why don't you help them? What? He's saying that they're not ra'ui. Oh no, he's saying that they're not ra'ui. If you look at Rashi, Rashi points out on both points of his limud zechus, so to speak, quote unquote, he points out that they're not ra'ui. He points out, A, if they're not ra'ui, but maybe their avos are ra'ui. And if, let's say, the avos are not ra'ui, but you still did it for them, so why don't you do for the children who are not ra'ui? Never does he say that Klal Yisrael is deserving, mitzad what they did, unless maybe zechus avos maybe, that's what you mean, maybe that's the pshat in Rashi. You mean—

Schus, maybe, huh? You didn't mean that to mean that. What's wrong? That's not good. That's not good. Dozogs good. Beide zogn good. Er zogt, I ain't calling floysim. Like the Kedushas Levi would have said, had they only seen the nifloyes, what about that? Avada they'd be gevald. The question is very poshut: where is the schus? Schus means he found something good about them. He didn't say one good word about them. He said maybe you should protect them even though they're not good. That's true. That's what he's trying to bring out, that even if they're not good and they don't deserve an af al pi ken. I say, is that a kashya? Is nisht may pshat? So this bothered me all my life. You should know this is a kashya that I had for many, many years. And if you notice, I even slipped it in last week into the shiur by saying, you know, limud schus doesn't even have to make sense. You know, some of the stuff that the Kedushas Levi was bringing out, how Klal Yisroel is actually good when they were doing things which were not good, are almost unreasonable. And maybe limud schus doesn't have to be something which is reasonable. It's just something to hang the hat on, so to speak. The meinish, look at how good does—not, don't look at this, look at that. But this is not even that, and it bothered me. And I mentioned it last week, and I see that Reb Simcha Zissel says this. In page kuf tzadi gimmel, he asks, V'hinei mah hoyah hasanigurya? Lo matzinu sheamar tefar schus. I was very happy to see this today. You see, Reb Simcha Zissel already is questioning, the whole schus is not here. What is he saying? Rak hisoirer liyos meitzar alayim. The only thing is he showed concern that it bothers him. Yeah, that's it, says Reb Simcha. That's already called limud zechus. It wasn't that he found anything good to say about them, but he was nis'orer to bring up the point and say, Ribono Shel Olam, it bothers me. And maybe even there's no solution for it. Maybe they're right for not getting what they should be getting. But af al pi kein, eich taina, Ribono Shel Olam, it's tudvei. The way they say in Yiddish, az a tudvei shaycht men, right? So he was saying, I don't even know what the answer is. I don't even know technically they deserve; they don't deserve it. But af al pi kein, Ribono Shel Olam, yei kol niflaos. This you see from Reb Simcha Zissel, that this is the nekudah, that there really was no—he didn't point out anything particular, zechus that they had that should be called a limud zechus, and af al pi kein it's called tzamigurya. So I want to discuss what's the pshat in the Kibud Av va-Em now in this connection. As I told you, that Reb Simcha Zissel himself puts this together and he says, interesting—this is on page kuf tzadig zayin—he says, I want to go one step further, he says, and I want to show you how this yesod, that he was meitzer, that he was noisei b'ol, that he cared and it bothered him, is actually the context of the whole perek. And that is, like we spoke, that what was he doing when the malach came to him? He was working the field for his father. Kivan shenisra'u meno l'ma'aseh, shehu noisei b'oil kol kach im aviv, l'sakein atzmoi bishvil aviv, zachah mizach kach liyos shevet al Yisrael. Which is the Malbim's pshat, and he ties it in together with the Rashi's pshat, that it's the same pshat: he cared. He wasn't indifferent. Noisei b'oil means, I care. I put myself out there because it bothers me. Do I have a solution? No, but I'm going to try. I'm going to kick and yell and scream and tainah. Says Reb Simcha Zissel, it's actually in the context of, like we spoke from the Malbim, that the malach comes to him while he's doing the fields for his father, because that was also effort exerted on his part to care, to think about his father, and to be concerned what happens in case his father gets attacked by Midyan. I mean, I would have said it has nothing to do with—where does the kibud av have to do with the noisei b'oil and the limud zechus? Reb Simcha Zissel in the Shmuess puts it together. He sees that it's connected. What is the connection, רבי? Noisei b'oil for Klal Yisrael, and it's the same point.

That he was noisei b'ol for his father. He cared. He, it's yiddish zach, and again, rabosai, forgive me every now and then, I like to go back to the mama loshon. I feel more comfortable and I explain myself better. It's geitim in lebin. That's called noisei b'ol. B'oil, b'oil. Noisei b'ol. It's geitim in lebin. Zochrim simchas Yisroel, that this geitim in lebin, which means, it concerns me, and I'm ready to do something about it, is tzar for Klal Yisroel. And as well as we see in the beginning, this is the way it was for his father as well. So now I want to explain what is the sanigoria, what is the ma'alah of sanigoria, because the truth is, it's called leich b'koichacha zeh, this koach that you have, this certain koach. It seems like it's a unique, something unique, something which is a strength that others don't have. What is this koach? So the truth is, be'etzem we could come and say that the Ribono Shel Olam likes very much when you say sanigoria because they're His children. You know, you come into a shul, the father appreciates when you compliment the kid. If you come into a shul where they yell at the kid, the father doesn't want to be there. No father wants to be where they're saying bad things about his children. So it could be the inyan of sanigoria is that the Ribono Shel Olam wants, like the Chofetz Chaim explains lashon hara. Why does the Rabbeinu Shalom care so much he speak lashon hara? What's the big deal? What's the big deal about it? Bishlema you hurt the other guy in business, and okay, all right, I hear that. But where you don't hurt the other guy, and the guy might not even know about it. Let's say the guy never finds out. It doesn't hurt him ever in business, and yet you get who knows how many lavin, according to the way the Chofetz Chaim enumerates the lavin. What's the big deal? So the Chofetz Chaim writes in many places, it's pashut a shaila the Rabbeinu Shalom looks at Klal Yisroel as his children, and he can't take when you talk against his children. So it could be this is the same in Yom Kippur that the Rabbeinu Shalom wants you to say good things about his children. Isaiah used to say over all the time that in Europe there was a special expression used for people who talk derogatory against Klal Yisroel. It was called zindiken, a tarnished zindiken. And for years, I met European yidden, elderly yidden from Europe, and I always say, What does it mean, a tarnished zindiken? Oh yeah, a tarnished yidden shlecht gegen Klal Yisroel. I know. So why is that called zindiken? You ever hear especially, you remember such a thing, a tarnished zindiken? You're not allowed to sin. I know you're not allowed to sin, but for some reason, the fact that... to demean. Zindiken is to make the meaning that the other person is a baal aveirah. And it was an expression in Yiddish, a tarnished zindiken. So you're saying, what happens if it doesn't break the arvus? I'm saying it's a sign that the Jewish is on one side, they're on the other side. They're on the other side. You're not talking about yourself, you're talking about how good... That's what I, I would look at it that way, that if you're the avra, yeah. But it's brother, sister. Even if it doesn't damage the brother or sister, you're not happy. But he said, let me tell you, this is one way to look at the inyan of saniguria. But I think the truth is it's a lot deeper. The inyan of saniguria could be it does do something. There's a kayach. For example, we find the Tarnish machaken kitrug on Klal Yisrael. If you say bad things, it's me'orer kitrugim. Possibly that if you say saniguria, it's me'orer good things for Klal Yisrael. Reb Simcha Zissel, in his first thing that I spoke out, he uses cryptic lashon and he says the inyan of saniguria, he says we find it by Moshe Rabbeinu. Then he says something interesting. He says, V'hinei halimud zechus tzarich lihyos al yedei adam.

It has to be through people. What's he bothered? I mean, why do you need limud zechus that me? What's the difference what I say? It makes such a big difference. Let in malachim. There's malachim in Shamayim, and then when there's a Mishpat Rosh Hashanah and Kippur, then there's something called kitrugim, malachim. Why is there something important called a sanegoria, and he speaks it out, that this is specifically, it has to be al yedei ha'adam. It has to be through a person. Sanegoria means defense. Right. Why does the Eibishter, who knows everything, need your defense? That's the question, okay? Yes, what do you want to say? Sure, sure. Let's say you have your children there. You're the tatty, and, you know, you got angry at one of the kids. You're about to punish him, you're about to yell at him, you're about to, you know, throw him in his room or whatever you're going to do to him. Okay, so this is again. And one of the brother or sisters says, Tatty, what are you so angry about? He's your kid. He's your... Aha, you're saying that it has a bigger effect if it comes from one of the siblings. Even I, even I, who have a very warm look at Tanach and everything, I think we're going one step too far there. It has to be through a sibling. I would tell you a little different. Let me tell you why. I would say, being that the time is short, so we're going to move ahead. There's a ma'arehdikem Michtav meEliyahu, a peleh, mamash a peleh, the Michtav meEliyahu. The Michtav meEliyahu writes a question. You know, Moshe Rabbeinu, like we said, defended Klal Yisroel. Tell me, did he get punished for defending Klal Yisroel? When he said, למה הרעותה לעם הזה, ולמה זה שלחתני? Because he got punished. Eibishter told him, What are you sholom about the bad? I do bad? What are you talking about? Here, Gidon is saying almost the same thing. He's paraphrasing Moshe Rabbeinu's speech. Oh, Gidon, you're meged, Gidon, you volunteered. In fact, ... Gidon. Lomar Yoises, complaining on behalf of Klal Yisroel, nishma. Lomar Yoises is complaining for the negative. Why bad? I think that's what he means. He doesn't speak it out clearly, but that's Lomar Yoises, the negative. Ayei kol niflo'osav is where's the positive, which leads me to believe that the Mikhtav MeEliyahu understood, and I quote his words, Lomah matzasanu kol zois eino kein elah lashon tefillah. It's actually a davening, it's prayer. ... Lomah Yoises is why bad. That's complaining. Complaining to the Eibishter is not the mahalach. Tefillah dosya. And I think he means to say, Ayei kol niflo'osav. He didn't say the negative, the opposite. Ayei kol niflo'osav, where's the positive? So mimeila is very tefillah. Tefillah, that's the inyan of ... Klal Yisroel, I believe, is a way of davening for Klal Yisroel, Rabbeinu shel olam. I express myself that there's chusim that you have to look at. So b'teiras tefillah, which we know is one of the koiches adam, man has a koach of tefillah. Rabbeinu Shalom waits for this tefillah. And I want to tell you something interesting. The fact that a person is melamed zechus on Klal Yisroel, the yesod of it comes, and why? Because we said it has to do something with b'koach hacha. So either it could mean b'koach tefillah. Now I understand b'koach hazeh. What koach? It seems like it's a power or a strength that he had that nobody else had. It's something unique, something special. So either we could come and say because the dor was shvach, like you look in the mefarshim, there was nobody else around. So b'koach hazeh, to be like this in such a dor, this takes unbelievable strength. Or the pshat is the koach ha-tefillah, maybe. To be able to daven to the Ribono Shel Olam on behalf of Klal Yisroel is a tremendous koach. You look in the Gemara, Taanis, Choni HaMa'agel, big sugyos, big tzaddikim have koiches to daven, koach ha-tefillah. Or maybe we could come and say another interesting thing: the ability to focus strictly on Klal Yisroel and to do something.

To be proactive. It concerns me to the point I get involved. That's a tremendous koach. It takes tremendous strength. A lot of people, they look at things and they say, It's status quo. What am I going to do about it? Status quo. What are you going to do? It's terrible. Gidon is waiting for the opportunity. He's not sitting still. The minute the malach comes, the first thing that comes out of his mouth. You know, I would have thought the first thing that comes out of his mouth, he could have asked him maybe about ruchniyusdike things. You know what it is when you meet a malach? The meforshim even discuss, was it really a malach? Was it a nevuah? We're not even sure what this is. Was Gidon a navi? Was he not a navi? There's a whole Rambam and Moreh Nevuchim about this. Wouldn't you be startled if a malach came to you? Would the first words out of your mouth be, Ayeh kol niflo'osav, klal Yisrael? That means this was completely his focus. That was on his mind, and only that was on his mind. Klal Yisrael, Klal Yisrael, Klal Yisrael. How do I go and I do and I help? What can I do to make for Klal Yisrael? And immediately the first point of opportunity, this is what comes out: Ayeh kol niflo'osav. A ta'ina comes out. I want to show you something interesting. There's a shmues from Reb Yerucham, me'oirerike shmues, how a person should be busy with Klal Yisrael, simple things. A whole famous shmooze. It's called Melech Basadeh, one of the classic shmoozes of Reb Yerucham. He says, Noach was being taught, don't sit in the teivah and sit in hisbodedus, meditating with the Ribono Shel Olam. You've got to sit there, go down to the animals, feed them, do. You got to be l'maaseh, yeah? And he has a whole shmooze like this. Melech — the Ribono Shel Olam is a melech, but what is He oisek in? He's oisek in details of people and problems in Klal Yisrael. A whole shmooze. It's in Parshas Noach, a mamash a gantze shmooze. Just to bring out the point, he brings two beautiful stories. He says he remembers that when he was in Kelm, the water — the netilas yadayim, so the water filled up, the basin filled up. So the alter from Kelm himself bent down to pick up the basin to spill out the water. So he turns to the alter from Kelm and he says, I don't understand, such a menial job for you, the alter from Kelm. I'm going to read it: Zochani paam achas b'Kelm, achar shenatal ha'kahanim es yedeihem l'duchan. They washed their hands in the shul. Lakach ha'shabbes karas ha'mayim l'tihim. Himself went to pick up the basin to bring it outside. Ani b'amdi sham, nasisi l'kachas oso mimenu. I tried to take it from him. V'hibit alai b'mabet kasheh loimar. He looked at me with a stern face. Chadasha, you're a new guy here in Kelm. You don't get what's going on. It's just — if you understood Kelm, he said, you would realize that this is gadlus. To take the water for the beis medrash and split it out. You would say the Alter of Kelm should be giving shmoozin. That's his job. That's it. He looks at, what are you talking about? That's when he brings the pasuk, Vayasar Nezbecholi Melech l'sader na'avod. Even the melech, which HaKadosh Baruch Hu, which is shalit b'chol olamos, he's oisek to help, to do, to get involved in the detail. And then he says a very interesting, at the end, I wish I could go through the whole shmooze with you. He says that in Kelm there was a minhag, a custom, every Sukkos they would sell the menial tasks of the yeshiva, you hear, for money. They would sell it. Who would be the shamash for the davening? Who would be the shamash to clean the floor? Who would be the shamash to turn on the heat? Who will take out the garbage? You're not listening, rabbeisai. You know what it is? We're so removed from mussar in such a way that we almost don't—it's a world that no shaychus to us. Could you imagine in Lakewood yeshiva? I'm just thinking about it. Imagine they're selling...

Chasan taharah, chasan bereishis, and who's gonna take out the garbage? That's what he said. I'm calling Reb Yeruchim. Reb Yeruchim in the sefer says that that's what he did in Kelm. Sukkos, imein simchas teirah, imagine Simchas Teirah, they get up, okay, who's gonna turn on the lights, and who's gonna take out the garbage, and who's gonna flush the toilets? That's up to, no? What's the pshat? And then he brings a ... he says, what's the pshat? He says, who had a lot of money, costed a lot of money. ... You had to pay a lot of money for your jobs. Today you can't even pay the guy to do it. Take a guy, yeshiva guy, tell him to pay him, pay him, he won't do it. He'll start negotiating minimum wage with you. What are you talking about? ... You have to pay and tell him to take out the garbage. I'm telling you, Reb Yeruchim, I'm not making it up. It's here, it's klar. Then he says, ... he ... a story about a person that had a long beard. And you know what he used to do with his long beard? He used to clean the aron kodesh, the paroches, with his beard. And he says, ... Why? We want to live a life where somebody's ... But the truth is, a person has to be able to go down, be busy with menial things if it means klal Yisroel, if it means helping another person. ... I want to tell you over one maaseh. I know I'm late, but give me one more second. I was zoche to go into Rav Shach many times. Fifty percent of the conversations I had with Rav Shach... Surprisingly, was Rav Shach busy asking me details about my private life, things, yeshiva, shidduchim, whatever the story. And I used to think to myself, what's so— I mean, the gadol hador, you're talking about. It was Rosh Yeshiva of Rosh Yeshivas. It was important for him to go down to the details of my life, every detail. There's no shaychus. And the answer is, when you understand that you're part of a Klal Yisroel, you go down to the detail to help, to be— even if it means to carry a water. I want to tell you all the ma'aseh from the Chazon Ish, but this I'll end, rabosai. In the Haggadah that they put out from the Chazon Ish, there's a ma'aseh, a peledike ma'aseh there. So I know it's a true story because Reb Chaim went through the Haggadah, so I know it's got to be a true story, okay? There's a story that the Chazon Ish promised somebody he would come to his vort because he had a hard time finding a shidduch. Finally the guy found the shidduch, and he expected that the Chazon Ish would show up to his vort. Chazon Ish never showed up to the vort. Ten minutes before lockup time, Chazon Ish pops in. Running in, he— the guy felt bad. You know, it's not like I get engaged every day, you know. It took years to get here, and you promised me you'd show up. Chazon Ish felt that he was bothering. He says, I know you feel bad, right? Let me tell you what I was doing. Down the block where I live, there's a grocery store of Russian Jews. Russian Jews came from Russia, and they opened up a grocery store, and their store isn't making money; they're losing money. And they came to me, Why am I losing money? If I can give them a bracha. So I said, It's not about a bracha. We have to see the finances, see where the problem is, why you're losing the money. So I sat there, going through the books with them. I can't even say over the story because you know what it does? It brings out what gedolim were. He says, I sat there, going through the books with them to show them where they're losing their money. And this took a very long time. Now you'll ask me, But I promised you I'd come to your vort. Let me tell you something. The truth is, what makes me the one who's responsible to make these guys? But you should also do it. It's your chiyuv as much as it's my chiyuv. So you had to go to your vort. I did you a favor. Instead of you having to sit by your vort, to sit there, work with this guy with his books, and two Russian people with their fruits and vegetables, so I sent you to your vort, and instead I sat there doing the books. Why is my chiyuv? And he left it, You're also the chiyuv to do it. Baisai, here, a gadol hador, that's his chiyuv, to sit there with the menial details. This, rabosai, is called a koyach sanigurial Yisrael, which means you're there to protect Klal Yisrael. You're there to do for Klal Yisrael.

Even if it means that I'm ready to go and talk to a malach in a way. Tell me, wasn't he afraid to talk like this? At some point you start to tremble. I wish I had more time to tell you. When I went to Gedolim, I would tremble. Who knows what they see and what they know, and I would be scared almost to open, to utter my mouth. Could you imagine when a malach comes to you and he has the courage? Why? Because if it means that he puts himself in that situation for Klal Yisroel, he's doing it. Lech b'koichacha zu. It's a tremendous koach to be able to put yourself in that situation with taivas Klal Yisroel. This is Sanigorel Yisroel, and this takke brings yeshuas v'shefa of Klal Yisroel. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.