Kavod Talmidei Chachamim: Respecting Gedolim Amid Machlokes and Tzaros

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. I was neseir to talk a little bit. It's not the normal course of the shiur, the Navi that we usually give, more based on Parshas HaShavua, not the coming parsha but the previous parsha, in light of something that needs to be understood, needs to be pointed out, needs to be addressed. And that, of course, is the matzav in Eretz Yisrael. According to the understanding of all the people who have a view of what's going on, they use the nusach, it's a new—there's a new method to the terrorism. It's a new method. It's something that it's not what been used to since always done, the bombings. Now they have a new mahalach. And this mahalach is even more difficult to stop, with the screen to protect, the knife stabbings and the lone wolves, as they call them. It's a new mahalach that came up. A new mahalach means that the mesorah, it's not the old tzava, but it's a different tzava. It's a new tzava. From what I understand, the Gedolei Eretz Yisrael paskened to the point that they should walk around with cell phones on Shabbos. This is in the discussion among the Gedolei Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, people should walk around with cell phones on Shabbos. So that's a hosafah, that's something different. So we have the halacha and the hashkafah of a Yid, that whenever there's a tzara, and it's a different tzara and a new tzara, so it's mechayev new his'orerus to look into why. And the Rambam says that whenever a tzara comes, there's a chiyuv. The Rambam Hilchos Taanis says, V'davar zeh midarkei ha-teshuvah hi, shebizman shetavo tzarah v'yizaku aleha v'yari'u, yeid'u hakol shebiglal ma'aseihem hara'im hora lahem. And this is mitzvas aseh min haTorah, so yidalach. It's a mitzvas aseh. It's a mitzvas aseh. If we are being told that it's a new method, it's something different, it's a new style of terrorism, so then it's mechayev aita. The mitzvas aseh is mechayev. To begin, misayer. Everybody talks, and I understand. In English they call it almost a boredom, right? The matzav Eretz Yisrael, the matzav in Eretz Yisrael, it's true. But there's a mitzvas aseh, rabosai. There's a mitzvas aseh. The Torah tells us not to say that things are just mikreh; they just happened. Says the Rambam in Halacha Gimel, perek aleph: Avim lo yizaku v'lo yari'u, ela ya'ameru davar zeh miminhag ha'olam, ira lanu, v'tzarah zu nikreh nikreis. It just happened. If a person says no, and what is the new narrative would be? New terrorism. Okay, we know, we know we're in Eretz Yisrael, and we know that the Arabs don't want us there, and the Arabs are out to kill us. No. But if you see a new wave and a new mahalach in the terrorism, something different, so vayter, muz men me'oirer zayn. You must. Dos iz der mitzvas aseh, rabosai, mit da Yidden. And Yidden listen to the Torah, and the Torah tells us, mimus mitzvas aseh, mimus dos tan, it's a mitzvah. And in case we don't do this, the Rambam says—

V'taisif hatzarah tzares acheros. There'll be new things. So if there are new things, more tzares, different tzares, hosafas tzares, we have to do that. That's the mitzvas aseh. So let's discuss, rabosai, the obvious. And again, from where I sit, I don't say bad things about Klal Yisroel. A, I don't think we're allowed to say bad things about Klal Yisroel. And I know that I'm definitely not the one to say it. K'sheit atzmecha v'achar kach k'sheit acheirim. I'm not here to, as they say in English, cast blame. But there's certain things which are obvious, rabosai, and I talk to you, dvarim hayotzim min halev, it will change your life. There are simple things that we take for granted, thinking that this is normal and megushtan. Everyone's doing it. Everyone's involved in it. It's not true. Certain things that everyone thinks is mutar is not mutar, and certain things that people do doesn't make it right. And just because we get used to something and we think, aleh tun das. And again, I say it with reservation, with yiras hakavod. יש פוגע זיין אין כלל ישראל, חס ושלום. Let's discuss mamarei Chazal and take out hisoirus from it. And the inyan I'm talking about is kavod talmidei chachamim. We almost take for granted that it's a normal thing. There's a machlokes by Klal Yisrael, between Gedolei Yisrael. It's talk. It's almost an accepted thing. If you're from this miflaga, you're from that miflaga. You know, depends which party you're from. וממילא מגמרדן און זאגן, you're allowed to say because it's l'shem Shamayim. זאָגטך, זאָגטך, דעות in halacha and hashkafah. Don't have to be mefared more. ... Every baal rav, בחג יומר, even one day in yeshiva, they got tzvei ... ... the whole. Rabosai, again, with yiras hakavod, I don't feel I much, but I could say one thing: what us poshete menschen have to react, and how we're supposed to take the situation of machlokes in Eretz Yisrael between Gedolei Yisrael, it's very important. And again, like I say, I apologize to speak. About something which is very ... machlokes is fire. Got to be careful on how you... I'm not getting involved in the machlokes. What I'm going to get involved is to discuss how we, how we need to react and how we need, lemaaseh, how to behave, plain and simple. Let us begin with Chazal, rabosai. I will not say anything on my own, because, like I said, I have tremendous trepidation, tremendous yirah, tremendous fear. Nishchas v'shalom, zogn avod v's'nishrichtik. Let us begin with a Gemara in Shabbos, kuf yud tes amud beis. Lo chava Yerushalayim ela mipnei shebizu bah talmidei chachamim, says the Gemara on the beis. Yerushalayim was charuv because bizu bah talmidei chachamim. Do we need to wait to have a real churban Yerushalayim? Az me ken nish leben, if you can't live on a daily basis. I've heard from many relatives in Eretz Yisrael.

People are afraid to go to the store. People are afraid to be found in public places, and it disrupts the daily life. Atah nasis nichavu Yerushalayim. It's also chavu Yerushalayim. Chazal tell us al shebizu bo talmidei chachamim. I want the oilam to hear two gayins. There's a Gra in Even Shleima. The Gra in Even Shleima, perek yud alef, os vav, zogt der Gaon in Even Shleima, v'ohray mitzta'er. The light—whose light? The light of Moshe Rabbeinu. The light of—what is the light of Moshe Rabbeinu? What does the Gaon mean? Where is the light that of Moshe Rabbeinu that's mitzta'er? Zogt der Gaon, im haTalmidei chachamim. Now, we could talk a lot about this Gaon. It's not the right forum for it. Moshe Rabbeinu is represented through the talmidei chachamim of every generation. This is not Chassidishe Torah, even though there's nothing wrong with Chassidishe Torah, but it's mefurash in Gemaras, rabosai. It's Chazal. Moshe shapir ka'amrit. Moshe Rabbeinu is the gedolei olam of the generation, the gedolei Yisrael of the generation. So he's mitzta'er im haTalmidei chachamim sheheim mevuzin b'galuso ba'asraa. In the final golus, which is the golus that we are in, our tikkun is the mahalach, the halach yeilech. Yidden is up in the mahalach yeilech from the golus, is bizui talmidei chachamim, v'nirdafim min ha'erev rav. Just like Moshe Rabbeinu suffered from the erev rav, the Gedolei Yisrael of the generation, especially in the dor acharon of the golus acharon, are going to suffer. And he brings a pasuk. There's another Gaon Rabbeinu side, the Gaon in the tikunim says, the Gaon, Tikunei Zohar, Tikkun Nun, divra hamaschil: V'chol ha'golus v'hachurban Beis Hamikdash v'chol hatzaros, all tzaros, here Rabbeinu, all the churban, where is it rooted? Hakol al yedei kibul Moshe Rabbeinu, olav hashalom, l'erev rav. It's because he accepted the erev rav. V'chol aznei panim haresha'im sheb'dor heim minoin. You should know that all the azei panim of the generation is that, it's the erev rav. And the erev rav, which is mevatel, which is mevazeh, which is an az to the Gedolim, that causes churban Beis Hamikdash v'chol hatzaros. I want to tell you a maiseh, which to me shook me to the core. I was taking it in. Reb Chatzkel Abramsky, a gadol, Reb Chatzkel Abramsky. He went to galus Siberia. He was taken to Siberia. It's famous, Reb Chatzkel was taken to Siberia. He attributed his galus to an ei kovod to Rabbi Yitzchok Elchanan Spektor. Said it clearly, it's famous. Rabbi Yitzchok Elchanan paskened one way. Reb Chatzkel Abramsky felt differently l'halacha. Today you would call that was a shlech, was... He didn't say bad things, chas v'shalom. And the story that Reb Chatzkel himself said over, he said that when the Soviets came into the town where he was, he...

Ran into a house to protect himself. It was a mob. They were taking people, grabbing people, taking them to Siber. So he went into a house of an almoneh. He was scared. He was... What does the gadol baTorah do when he's scared, when he's in a matzav of tzaar? He wants to learn. A vil lernen. So he asked the almoneh. There was no man in the house. This was a house of a woman. Efsher hast a sefer? So she said, No, I don't have sefarim. Especially in Europe, even regular homes hardly had sefarim. So she goes, You know, there's אפעס a sefer on the top shelf of the breakfront. I remember seeing a sefer over there on top. Reb Chatzkel Abramsky himself would say over the maaseh. She brings down the sefer, she dusts it off, she gives it to Reb Chatzkel Abramsky. It was a Reb Yitzchok Elchanan sefer, Shaalos Uteshuvos Reb Yitzchok Elchanan. And when he opened it, the first page that he opened was the teshuva that he was cholek on Reb Yitzchok Elchanan. And he commented, I'm going to be taken away. There's nothing what to talk about. They're going to grab me. It's a siman min hashamayim why I'm a chelek even of Reb Yitzchok Elchanan. And Reb Chatzkel said over that when he was in Siber, he had a cholem Erev Yom Kippur that Reb Yitzchok Elchanan came to him. And he was laughing, smiling. He was giving him a warm... He went over to the guard and he said, I think today I'm going to be released. Kach havah, he was released. Here, Rabbeisai, the chomer, the chomer. You're talking about unbelievable. What did he do already? What? Aber there's a zehirus. Reb Yitzchok Honig, ... l'adam. Mimeila there was a zehirus. And the onesh of galus was attributed to that, to the אי כבוד of talmidei chachamim. Now I want to talk to you about the parsha. Rashi says he was an ish tzaddik tamim ... Yesh meRabbeinu doreshin l'shvach, yesh doreshin לגנאי. Alef chegin the kasha. I'll ask, why does Rashi need to go into the לגנאי and the שבח? So there's two terutzim in the sefarim. The first teretz was mekayen zoggen, shteit shein in sefarim, to teach that every tzaddik people talk about can be tzaddik tamim. Yesh doresh l'gnai, it's normal. Stop. ... tzaddik. Rabbeisai, ... doesn't mean the mensh. It's normal, meaning it's normal. It's not normal, but it's normal normal. It happens. Shmuel Yosef set about to teach the oilam that Afa Pi there was a yesh dorshin lignai, he was a tzaddik tomim. You always have to remember that he's a tzaddik tomim. Rashi vil, Rashi vil zoggen that it's yesh dorshin lignai. It happens, a tzaddik, a person could be a tzaddik tomim and they talk, un dos gufa, zogt Shmuel Yosef, is the limud. In the context, he said it was his chassidim were rodef, different chassidus. They wanted to harm. They wanted to make protests and harm the other tzaddik, and the Shmuel Yosef called them in and said, I want to show you this Rashi. Rashi is trying to tell us that even though it was yesh dorshin lignai, yet you have to remember still it's tzaddik b'dorosav. You know, it's a tesantera beisai. This is already brought, fridike, fridike sefarim.

By this geshvach, it says, Yesh meRabbeinu, doishen l'shvach. And it says, yesh... does it say Rabbeinu, doishen l'gnai? I don't say that. Yesh doishen l'gnai. Shteit in sefarim, that it's trying to tell you, Rabbeinu, a doishen l'shvach; Rabbi, yesh doishen l'gnai. I want to tell you a tip, rabosai. Ken zayn Rashi is trying to fataitch why Noach was not mashpia on his dor. Why not? What happened? The Rishonim talk about it already. Why did it happen that he was not mashpia on his dor? Why not? Tefavos nisht? T'chazeifel arayngelegt. 120 years. You know what 120 years is? It's a good lesson: don't give up. Most of us would have given up a long time after 120 years. Hakn zelbe holtz. Yiddish upn hard holtz, you know. It's an expression when you're beating a tree, okay? Akn holtz. He was literally hacking holtz for 120 years. It's a gantz geholtz. Tzadik tomim, he did it anyway, b'tmimus. It's a good lesson. So why didn't it work? I think, rabosai, Rashi is saying a meiredike zach: because there was yesh doishen l'gnai. Because there were those that minimized him. They said, Eh, ... nu. ... What are you going to... ... What's... Hameila, he wasn't able to be mashpia. The loss that we gain, or have, the loss that we have by not being properly machshiv, is we lose out tremendous, because the hashpaos of tzaddikim gedolim get lost because of it. Tremendous yesod, and I found it in a Gemara. The Gemara in Kesubos says about the dor of Mashiach. Amar Rabbi Yirmiyah, it's a Gemara, Kesubos kuf yud beis amud beis, amar Rabbi Yirmiyah bar Abba, dor sheben David ba, katigurya b'talmidei chachamim. Rashi says it means there'll be sitna, mastinim, people speak bad, umelamdim chovah, people who say negative things about the talmidei chachamim. That's this goyin that we were learning. This is the nisayon of the dor, rabosai. The nisayon of the dor is, is melamed chovah. What does it mean that there is katigurya? So there's a ma'amar, an interesting Eitz Yosef. The Eitz Yosef says that what is the katigurya? The Eitz Yosef in the Ein Yaakov on this Gemara, he says, Mimeila, tafik Torah v'chochmah me'olam. We lose. Tafik. There's so much to be gained. There's so much Torah that could have been learned. We're busy putting down. So what's happened for them? You lost out. You lost out. Reb Elchonon Dachtzich in Kovetz Maamarim learns the Gemara the same way. Pashut pshat is there's a machlokes against the Gedolei Yisrael. Pashut pshat is that das alein is a bizayon haTorah. But you see, there's a tefirah there in bizayon haTorah. The bizayon haTorah is that because you're mevazeh the talmid chacham, so the Torah that could have been learned from that talmid chacham is lost out. That's the bizayon haTorah. It's a chelek from the bizayon of HaKadosh. It's not just that the talmud chacham represents the Ribbono Shel Olam. He represents the Torah, and you're mevazeh him, you're mevazeh the Torah. But by being mevatel the talmud chacham, you're losing out so much that you could have gained. And I want to show you something interesting. Reb Chaim Kanievsky brings something so interesting from the Chazon Ish on this Rashi. Reb Chaim Kanievsky says that the Chazon Ish ... pshat in Rashi, that be'emes it's not a derush and liknot.

Both pshatim is darshen l'shvach. Both pshatim is darshen l'shvach. How are the both pshatim darshen l'shvach? She says like this: אילו היה בדורו של אברהם לא היה נחשב לכלום for what he did. The maasim that he had was not much to be considered much in Avram's dor. But don't forget what dor he was in. ... אבל למעשה, ואל תגביהם בדורו של אברהם, his maasim would have been bigger. ... It's not that אילו היה בדורו של אברהם לא היה נחשב לכלום, and that's what he would have remained. What he was, was not much בדורו של אברהם because he was in a dor של רשעים, ואל תגביהם בדורו של צדיקים, he would have been bigger. So really, זאָגט the Chazon Ish, both pshatim is darshen l'shvach. What did I learn from this? ... A mensch could take a Chazal, a yesh darshen לגנאי, and if you look at it from a different angle, you'll see ... It's a whole different thing. ... about the yesh darshen לגנאי. ... It's not truth. No such thing. It's not yesh darshen לגנאי. I want to tell you over something interesting. And this is what I understood from the Chassidish. You can never understand the tzaddik. The tzaddik, lefi doiroi, this is what he was. But the truth is, the tzaddik could be a lot bigger. We don't have a real havanah. We could see a yesh dor shel lignai, and it's not really true because it's not really the gnai. I want to tell you something interesting. My Rebbe, Reb Michel Shurkin, brings down in the sefer that he heard from Reb Mendel Zaks. There are two biographies of the Chofetz Chaim. One was written by the Chofetz Chaim's son, and the other famous biography was written by Rav Yasher, by Rav Yasher. So the son, Chaim, was a better biographer. Who knows more the father than the son, right? Reb Mendel Zaks, the eidim said he liked Yasher's biography better. What's the pshat? And he said a peledike thing. The son tries to understand the father, and everything in the sefer that he wrote, My father said this is because of this. He was a tremendous talmid chacham, the son of the Chofetz Chaim, a ... in Radin. People don't know this. ... in Radin. So he was ... he was learning the ma'ases, yeah. Rav Yasher. He was a writer. So he wrote the ma'ases the way they happened, without adding anything to understand the ma'ases. This is what it is. This is what happened. Hatkamendel zaks gezogt, si besser. It's better. Why? Because you didn't really understand the Chofetz Chaim, no matter how much. So you're better off having the history, the ma'aseh itself, without the uptight, because you'll never be oimed on the omek of the mensch. I remember, my zaidy once told me over, Reb Simcha Wasserman, the Luchanin's son, went to visit my zaide. So my zaide had a good time with him. They were together in Radin. They were speaking stories, ma'ases. So when he left, my zaide said, Ah, the best vort on the Chofetz Chaim he heard from Reb Simcha today, about the Chofetz Chaim. What's the vort? He says, when people ask him if he knew the Chofetz Chaim, so he says, It depends what you call the word knew. When people ask us, Did you know the Chofetz Chaim? so he would say, It depends what was making 'knew.' If you mean if I saw him, yeah, I saw him.

If you mean, if I understood everything? No, I didn't understand everything, yeah. You're listening? He says, Many saw רבי וינציק and פארשטאנען. That's what he said. I remember, ... אחי בשיחה. I say, Klug, you're so wise. Ah. Rabbi, he said, That's the halacha. Another one more maiseh. I know the oilam hot lik maises. They'll walk out and they'll say, What did Rabbi Wolken say today? Okay, they'll probably say over the three maises that I said. Okay, I got it. ... Okay. ... told him over a maiseh that he himself was badeba. He was there when it happened, that somebody came, a Yekke sherav came to the Chofetz Chaim. Came to the Chofetz Chaim. He traveled from far because he wanted to see the Chofetz Chaim. He paid a lot of money for the ticket. He came in, he sat down, and the Chofetz Chaim spoke to him for a good half hour. He walked out and he said, Ah, ... mentch. He wasn't impressed. He was not impressed. ... He wasn't impressed. ... explained to me that if you sat with the Chofetz Chaim, you wouldn't see ... He spoke to you normal, straight talk. It was nothing earth-shattering. The nusach, the way ... said it over, he had the misfortune, the misfortune, to say it in front of Reb Elchanan. The chanan was standing there when the guy said it. He said, like a Reb Elchanan, Chofetz Chaim. He was kedoshim, the Chofetz Chaim, yeah. That whole dibur, he said over. Stam, he heard it. The Chofetz Chaim, even his drashas was simple. Very simple drashas, very simple mashalim, very simple. So he was sitting, Reb Elchanan, by the shiur, by the shmues of the Chofetz Chaim, and a guy walked out. Seems like things never change. A guy walked out of the shiur. Well, Chofetz Chaim said the same thing last year. Reb Elchanan said, No, no, no, no. He added six words. Zeks verter tsugelegt. And to Reb Elchanan, that means it was a whole different shmues. It was a whole different shmues here, because he added six words. This was the— so Reb Elchanan, when he hears that this person walks out and he says, Fata mentsh, Reb Elchanan began to scream, A mentsh? A mentsh? A mentsh vos felt zich vi a malach, iz greser vi a malach, iz hamefursh in Gemara, rabosai. Gemara doesn't let us talk more about it, but there's Gemara, rabosai. We have to understand. B'doylei Yisroel, we don't understand. That's what you have to understand. Malavoser zagt, u'malavoser tracht, u'malavoser shraybt, u'ma— The Eibishter is way beyond anything that we could even begin to understand. You have to have tremendous yiras Shamayim, and understanding that we don't understand, and to be mechabed kavod haTorah. It's maaseh Satan. It's maaseh Satan. It's maaseh Satan. And the maaseh Satan is because he knows if we would have the richtege haracha, we would gain so much. We would have so much more hashkafah and so much more hadracha. Yeitzer hara lasneisht. Yeitzer hara lasneisht. I don't want to end with a bracha of nizak, because I feel very uncomfortable giving mussar. The emes is, it's eating me up. That's the truth. It's very schwer for me. Mi ani, mah ani. So let me turn it into a bracha, rabosai. The Gemara in Sanhedrin, daf tzadi ches, says that takeh, when there's going to be fighting between talmidei chachamim, Moshiach will come. Zei shteit in the Gemara. The Gemara says...

Rabbi Elazar omer, ki lifnei hayamim ha'eileh, sachar adam lo nihyeh, u'schara beheima einena, u'leyotzei u'leveiin shalom. For those that come and go, there won't be shalom. From what? Won't there be shalom in Atzar? What is tzar? So the Gemara, mai leyotzei u'leveiin shalom in Atzar? Rav amar, af talmidei chachamim, shekasuv בהם שלום. Like it says, Shalom rav l'ohavei תורתך, ein shalom min ha'tzar. Who is the tzar? Says the Gemara, two pshatim. One pshat, says Rashi, tzar is from the yetzer hara, and the other pshat is me'rov hatzaros. And the Gemara says that talmidei chachamim won't have shalom. What does it mean, min ha'tzar? Is min hatzaros or mi'yetzer hara. The mashal doesn't learn like this. The mashal learns they don't have shalom between themselves. It's supposed to be that after a machlokes, there's shalom, u'leyotzei u'leveiin shalom. And Rashi says because when that happens, אז יבוא משיח. Mashiach will come. U'leyotzei u'leveiin shalom, Rashi, mefurash Rashi, אז יבוא משיח. Everyone questions when Mashiach is coming. Today, רבותי. I think we did our share of this Gemara, u'leyotzei u'leveiin shalom min ha'tzar. Rashi says it clearly: אז יבוא משיח. מתן זכות, רבותי. כבוד of talmidei chachamim, כבוד of talmidei chachamim, כבוד. באימה וביראה, ברתת ובזיע. We talk about talmidei chachamim. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.