A link to the hespedim of Rav Moshe Twersky ztz"l Hy"d at the conclusion of the shiva here. You can believe everything all of the maspidim say except where HaGaon Rav Dovid Cohen Shlita the Rosh Yeshiva of Chevron says [in his humility] that he is in the captivity of his yetzer hara. Believe me sweet friends - I am in captivity, most people I know are in captivity - but he Shlita is NOT:-).
May we all be zoche to go free - ואין בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתלמוד תורה!!
I thank my beloved friend and sometimes "email chavrusa", R' Meir Zev Steinmetz, for the link.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Rav Aharon Kotler And The Mafia Godfather
Today is the yahrtziet of HaGaon R' Aharon Kotler ztz"l. He changed the face of American Jewry in a way that nobody else did. His emphasis was on Torah Li-shmah - Torah for Torah's sake. Not for "credit" or for "smicha" or because it is "interesting" or "inspiring" or for any utilitarian purpose. We learn Torah because it is dvar Hashem, the undistilled will and reflection of G-dliness that He gave us in order to cling to Him. We learn in order to learn and understand. Any external goal such as parnassa or kavod or even a feeling of accomplishment is foreign to the ultimate purpose of learning.
Introducing such a concept in America of the 40's 50's and 60's was similar to suggesting that everybody walk the streets barefoot while wearing a large sock on the head as a hat. Mishegge! But he prevailed and the 6000 plus talmidim of Lakewood are a living testimony as are the many thousands of graduates who are learning and teaching Torah worldwide.
From Emunah magazine [I heard the story from Rav Shachter Shlita]:
After contacting them, he asked Rav Aharon, “Who are we sending to the meeting?”
Rav Aharon replied, “You and I are going.”
Off they went to meet the godfather of the Mafia, Joe Bonnano. Rav Aharon did not speak English, so it was Mr. Bunim who explained the problem of the 24 rabbonim trapped in Italy.
The Mafia chief asked Mr. Bunim, “Who is the elderly man sitting next to you?”
He told him, “He is the godfather of the Jewish people.”
“Really?” asked the Mafia chief.
“Yes!” replied Mr. Bunim emphatically.
“Tell him I want a blessing.”
So Mr. Irving Bunim turned to Rav Aharon and in Yiddish told him, “Ehr vill a bracha fun de rov. (He wants a blessing from the rov).”
“Zog eim ehr zol leiben lang un shtarben in bet.”
Irving Bunim turned back to the mafia chief Joe Bonnano and told him, “The rabbi blesses you with long life and you should die in bed.”
Upon hearing this, the mafia chief replied, “I like that,” and promised within 2 weeks to arrange the freedom of the 24 rabbonim stuck in Italy, which he did indeed accomplish.
Twenty-something years later, in 1964, a shiny black stretch limo pulls up in front of Lakewood Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. Two fancy-dressed men get out and walk up to the office. They say are looking for Rabbi Kotler. Out comes a man who introduces himself.
“No, not you,” say the two Italian guys. “We are looking for an older man.”
“That was my father,” says the rosh yeshiva, Rav Shneur Kotler, ”but he passed away a number of years ago.”
The Italian men explain that they are the Bonnano brothers, and that their father always “attributed his long life to your saintly father’s blessing. Now that he has just retired, we are taking over the business and we came here for the same blessing.”
“I’m sorry,” says Rav Shneur, “my father could do that, but I am not on that high level.”
Disappointed, but clearly understanding the concept of yeridas hadoros - the descent of the generations, the new Mafia chiefs bid farewell to Rav Shneur.
For saving 24 rabbonim from the Nazis, and with Rav Aharon Kotler’s bracha, Joe Bonnano - the Mafia godfather - lived to 97 years old.
"Something in him speaks, as I would imagine Reb Yoshe Ber Brisker once spoke. Something in him speaks as I would imagine the Chasam Sofer once spoke: indignation, wonderment, anguish and an invoking of one's responsibility. And I mean not only the erudition of a gadol m'gedolei ha-dor because to be a gadol--scholarship alone is insufficient. The qualities of a gadol, besides Torah, are warmth, exuberance, tolerance, wonderment: "and warm yourself in the light of talmidei chachamim"--to benefit from their light is not enough. Cold light is worthless; there must be searing light so that one burns himself in its proximity. Reb Aharon, the great Rosh Yeshiva, has no cold light in him; it is hot; it kindles. And as you approach him, you, in turn, become enkindled...I would like to request that the entire audience rise and pay homage."
Introducing such a concept in America of the 40's 50's and 60's was similar to suggesting that everybody walk the streets barefoot while wearing a large sock on the head as a hat. Mishegge! But he prevailed and the 6000 plus talmidim of Lakewood are a living testimony as are the many thousands of graduates who are learning and teaching Torah worldwide.
From Emunah magazine [I heard the story from Rav Shachter Shlita]:
- This seemingly too-incredible-to-be-true story actually took place. It was during World War II when twenty-four rabbonim were being held in Italy and faced being returned to Nazi-occupied Europe and certain death.
After contacting them, he asked Rav Aharon, “Who are we sending to the meeting?”
Rav Aharon replied, “You and I are going.”
Off they went to meet the godfather of the Mafia, Joe Bonnano. Rav Aharon did not speak English, so it was Mr. Bunim who explained the problem of the 24 rabbonim trapped in Italy.
The Mafia chief asked Mr. Bunim, “Who is the elderly man sitting next to you?”
He told him, “He is the godfather of the Jewish people.”
“Really?” asked the Mafia chief.
“Yes!” replied Mr. Bunim emphatically.
“Tell him I want a blessing.”
So Mr. Irving Bunim turned to Rav Aharon and in Yiddish told him, “Ehr vill a bracha fun de rov. (He wants a blessing from the rov).”
“Zog eim ehr zol leiben lang un shtarben in bet.”
Irving Bunim turned back to the mafia chief Joe Bonnano and told him, “The rabbi blesses you with long life and you should die in bed.”
Upon hearing this, the mafia chief replied, “I like that,” and promised within 2 weeks to arrange the freedom of the 24 rabbonim stuck in Italy, which he did indeed accomplish.
Twenty-something years later, in 1964, a shiny black stretch limo pulls up in front of Lakewood Yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. Two fancy-dressed men get out and walk up to the office. They say are looking for Rabbi Kotler. Out comes a man who introduces himself.
“No, not you,” say the two Italian guys. “We are looking for an older man.”
“That was my father,” says the rosh yeshiva, Rav Shneur Kotler, ”but he passed away a number of years ago.”
The Italian men explain that they are the Bonnano brothers, and that their father always “attributed his long life to your saintly father’s blessing. Now that he has just retired, we are taking over the business and we came here for the same blessing.”
“I’m sorry,” says Rav Shneur, “my father could do that, but I am not on that high level.”
Disappointed, but clearly understanding the concept of yeridas hadoros - the descent of the generations, the new Mafia chiefs bid farewell to Rav Shneur.
For saving 24 rabbonim from the Nazis, and with Rav Aharon Kotler’s bracha, Joe Bonnano - the Mafia godfather - lived to 97 years old.
- The Rav, Zatzal, and HaGaon Rav Aharon Kotler, Zatzal - These passages are from "A Fire In His Soul," which is the biography of the great Oskan B'Tzorchei Tzibbur, Reb Irving Bunim, Z"L, written by his son, Rav Amos. Rav Bunim sheds a great a deal of light on the relationship between HaGaonim Rav Aharon Kotler and Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik, Zichronom L'Veracha.
- p.211
- p.212
- p.371-2
"Something in him speaks, as I would imagine Reb Yoshe Ber Brisker once spoke. Something in him speaks as I would imagine the Chasam Sofer once spoke: indignation, wonderment, anguish and an invoking of one's responsibility. And I mean not only the erudition of a gadol m'gedolei ha-dor because to be a gadol--scholarship alone is insufficient. The qualities of a gadol, besides Torah, are warmth, exuberance, tolerance, wonderment: "and warm yourself in the light of talmidei chachamim"--to benefit from their light is not enough. Cold light is worthless; there must be searing light so that one burns himself in its proximity. Reb Aharon, the great Rosh Yeshiva, has no cold light in him; it is hot; it kindles. And as you approach him, you, in turn, become enkindled...I would like to request that the entire audience rise and pay homage."
- Rav Yitzchak Hutner related that he had a "meshune-dike tyveh" - a bizarre fetish. He would try to get Rav Aharon to say the word "Teyreh":-). Rav Aharon said it with SUCH relish and love that Rav Hutner was inspired just hearing the word.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
A Big Man With a Big Heart
R' Moshe Cohen - A eulogy circulating on the web.
Aryeh Kupinsky was a big man with a long, red beard. He towered over almost everyone. But what really made him stand out was that he always had a big smile.
Aryeh was a doer, always in motion. Long legs taking great strides, powerful arms reaching out with great sweeping gestures. And what was Aryeh doing? He was always helping someone. He lived for others. His first thought was never for himself.As Rabbi Jonathan Taub put it so well, Aryeh was simply incapable of being a guest at someone's simcha. If he was there early, he would single-handedly flip over tables and set them on their feet. He often did not leave until everything was put away. A friend once insisted that Aryeh sit, enjoy himself, and let those who were hired do the work. That didn't stop Aryeh from lugging in all of the cartons of drinks that he spotted outside of hall and loading them into the refrigerator.
How many times had I heard him say, "What can I do to help?"
When I first came to yeshiva nearly two decades ago, someone told to me, "Aryeh Kupinsky is a person who would do anything, for anyone, at any time." When he was a student living in a dorm, he had put up a sign, "Please borrow anything – no need to ask." Who does that?
Aryeh acted quickly and quietly. He asked for no recognition, and many were unaware of things that he had done. For example, on Tisha b'Av for years Neve has hosted a popular program featuring superb lecturers. By 2 PM everyone has gone home. Well, nearly everyone. There was one man who made sure that the Sefer Torah and two Haftarah scrolls that were used for davening were returned from the dining room to the Shul, and that the Aron Kodesh was properly locked. That was Aryeh.
Aryeh was a deeply emotional, passionate person. His passion was particularly evident when it came to learning Torah. He was a Torah scholar who loved learning. When we learned together for a brief period as study partners, he would get fired up at the drop of a hat.
The truth is that over the years, when I would meet up with Aryeh, my heart would sometimes fall. Aryeh was always bothered by something. He was constantly nursing a question in learning, turning it over, gnawing at it, trying to resolve it. And he would share it with you when he saw you. There was no such thing as, "Interesting! I'll have to think about it." Nor was it possible to simply suggest an answer. Any possible solution had to be analyzed, weighed for merits and demerits, and then discussed again. When I "didn't have the time" for this process, I would feel somewhat exasperated. How I would love to be able to experience such a delay again...
Although Aryeh was always doing for others, it did not come at the expense of his own family. He was an utterly dedicated husband and father. After leaving Kollel where he learned full time, Aryeh continued to set aside a few hours every to learn Torah as worked, first as a Mashgiach and then in computers, to support his family. Because his wife Yaakova, has an excellent job with great benefits – and staggeringly long hours – Aryeh took on much of the housework, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of his kids, to enable his wife to keep to her schedule. Although he had been praying for many years at Kehilas Bnei Torah, the Har Nof shul that was attacked, he had only recently switched to the 6:25 minyan in order to get home earlier and help his wife. The massacre took place during this minyan.
His Daughter's Death
Two years ago, just days after Tisha b'Av, Aryeh's daughter Chaya did not wake up. She was just shy of her 14th birthday. Chaya had been mature for her age. She had been the one to shoulder much of the burden in the house, acting as almost a second mother to her siblings. After her untimely passing, her parents found personally composed prayers, pages long, which she apparently had expressed daily.Aryeh was inconsolable after Chaya's death. Everything reminded him of her and tears were never far below the surface. For much of the next two years, the family did not eat their Friday night Shabbos meal at home, as this family time was too painful for Aryeh to experience without his beloved eldest daughter. Sitting at another family's table allowed him to mitigate some of the sorrow. Only when giving his other precious children the Friday night blessings Aryeh was unable to contain his grief and broke down with heart-wrenching sobs.
But Aryeh would not allow himself to wallow in pain. Assemblies were held in Chaya's memory, inspiring others to spiritually grow. Aryeh often said that it was a great source of comfort to him that so many people changed their lives for the better as a result of Chaya's death. Yaakova Kupinsky believes that these words, heard so often by the family, serve as a focus for them now at this enormously difficult point in their lives.
But Aryeh wanted to do more. He sought to establish something permanent in Chaya's memory. We live in a world with so many kindhearted Jews where there are literally hundreds of categories of "gemachs" – various types of free loans listed in Jewish directories worldwide. But Aryeh Kupinsky, ba'al chesed extraordinaire, managed to found a gemach so rare that to the best of my knowledge there is only one other one in existence. A freezer gemach! He purchased a number of medium-sized freezers and advertised that they would be available free of charge for use for Jewish holidays and private celebrations. He told me with a mixture of incredulity and regret that before Rosh Hashanah he had to turn down 92 applicants. Just days before Aryeh was so brutally taken from us, he was attempting to figure out how to acquire more freezers for this noble purpose.
What elevated Aryeh's gemach from merely unique to awe-inspiring, however, was the manner in which he ran it. Har Nof is built around a mountain. Every street is on another level. The entire neighborhood is made up of long, winding streets, and steep, winding staircases.
At his funeral a mutual friend told me that that he yelled at Aryeh the last time they had met. He bumped into Aryeh as he was transporting a freezer from one recipient to another, on a two-wheeled handcart. This was the only mode of transportation employed by the gemach – hand-wheeled, bumped up and down every step and along every roadway. And there was only one "employee" – Aryeh.
"Are you crazy?!" our friend asked Aryeh. "Isn't it enough that you lend people a freezer for free? Let them pay 50 shekel for delivery!"
Aryeh recoiled. "This is my chesed (my opportunity to do an act of kindness)!" he protested.
On that fateful Tuesday morning when the men praying became aware of the evil terrorists, they ran for their lives. Not so Aryeh. Numerous reports have Aryeh screaming at everyone in the shul to run, while he made sure that they could. He hurled shtenders, chairs, siddurim – whatever came to hand – at the terrorists to distract them, at one point physically restraining one of them. There were others who followed his example. After taking multiple blows – some intended for others – Aryeh fell. There is no doubt that he saved people's lives.
There was an unexpected delay when we arrived at his intended burial plot in Har HaMenuchos where Ayreh's daughter, Chaya, is buried. The gaping hole in the ground was not quite long enough. We waited in the dark while the Chevra Kadisha took out their tools, and finally the earth reluctantly took Aryeh back.
Aryeh Kupinsky was indeed a big man. But his heart was ever bigger.
"Greater Are Tzadikim In Death Than In Life"
From an email - reprinted with permission from the sender...
Much has already been written and told about those who were killed. I did know Rav Kalman Levine Hy"d personally and learned together with him while in Yeshiva, but I don't have much to personally add beyond all that has already been shared by so many others.
** Rav Kalman was very careful in his observance of all areas of halacha. This was clear to anyone who knew Rav Kalman and spent time with him. What his children added was that this shouldn't be mistaken for a nervous obsession with "chumros", but rather an excitement to fulfill every mitzva in the best possible way. In fact - this was how Rav Kalman approached every aspect of his life. As one of his sons said - even when it came to something as mundane as purchasing a bell for his kid's bike, Rav Kalman wanted to make sure it was the best and most beautiful bell he could find. He always put in 110% to give his best to life, his family and to Hashem.
** Rav Kalman was unusually careful when it came to his financial dealings with others. When it came time at the end of the month to report his hours to his Kollel in order to collect his monthly check, he would omit the 5 minutes he took from seder to prepare for each tefilla. He wasnt sure if his preparation for tefilla was justified as counting towards his hours of learning and he therefore did not report it with the rest of his hours.
** One of his sons related that as Rav Kalman approached age 50, he would avoid telling people exactly how old he was whenever the subject arose. His family didn't understand why but never thought much of it. This week during shiva they discovered the reason behind it. The Torah says that a Levi over the age of 50 is no longer suitable to serve in the Beis Hamikdash. As he approached age 50, Rav Kalman was upset by the fact that he would not have the opportunity to participate in the avoda in the mikdash and therefore didn't want to discuss his exact age. It was similarly related that every morning during shacharis, Rav kalman would run to wash the hands of the kohanim. He might have been too old for avoda in the mikdash, but he still could serve the kohanim by washing their hands each morning and he literally jumped at the opportunity to do so.
** While I was in the Levine's apartment, Rav Rubin - the rav of the shul where the attack took place - came to be menachem avel. When Rav Rubin sat down, Rav Kalman's son said that the family believed that this was from Hashem and it was Rav Kalman's predestined time to be killed. Rav Rubin immediately interjected that the people in the Beis medrash that day were not just killed. They were offered up as korbanos. Rav Rubin said that this is what Rav Chaim Kanievsky had told him earlier that day (I believe this has since been publicized) - that at least on some level, these korbanos were taken by Hashem as a kapara for our generation to hasten the coming of Mashiach.
** Rav Rubin related how Rav Kalman was literally the spirit of the whole community during hakafos on Simchas Torah. "Without Rav Kalman" said Rav Rubin "we wouldn't have Simchas Torah in our shul". He compared it to the description of the Vilna Gaon who reportedly danced with special energy and fervor during hakafos on Simchas Torah.
** For years, Rav Kalman davened neitz at the earliest possible time in the morning. He was not an active participant in the Shacharis minyan last Tuesday morning, but rather he had already finished davening elsewhere and had to that shul to discuss something with Rav Rubin. He was learning in the back of the shul while the minyan was still going until Rav Rubin was available. His sons related that it was not typical for Rav Kalman to leave his tefillin on after finishing to daven Shacharis. Last Tuesday however, Rav Kalman decided to leave his tefillin on while he went to go speak with Rav Rubin. Rav Kalman was ultimately killed while learning with his tefillin still on.
** Rav Twersky's family related that he would not always go to the mikveh before davening in the morning. Last Tuesday morning however, he decided to go to the mikveh before going to daven Shacharis.
** The last words that Rav Twersky reportedly said to his daughter were "Ad bias goel" - A reference to coming of mashiach. This was a somewhat unusual thing for him to say. What is perhaps more notable is what was related by the person who was serving as chazzan in the minyan that morning. Apparently the last words of chazaras Hashatz that were said before the massace began was "Umeivi goel...". Rav Twersky's life indeed ended with the words referencing the "bias goel".
** As he was leaving the shiva house, Rav Rubin told the children that just as a parent leaves a physical inheritance, he also leaves a spiritual inheritance of character traits and Avodas Hashem. And just as physical inheritance is divided among the children, so too the spiritual inheritance can be divided. With so many impressive traits to go around, each child should choose one or two aspects of their fathers life that touched them and spoke to them, and work to become great in these areas, thereby carrying on their fathers legacy.
I add one story: My daughter has a teacher named Rav Neuvort [son of the author of Shmiras Shabbos Ki-hilchaso]. He told the girls that he was planning to daven in that minyan on that fateful morning but he was five minutes late. True to his "yekke" heritage, he didn't want to be late and have to rush through the davening, so he left and waited for the next minyan. His desire to daven properly might have saved his life....
This past Thursday night, I went to Har Nof. Together with countless others from around the country (and perhaps from around the world), I went to mourn with the families of those killed in last week's massacre.
Much has already been written and told about those who were killed. I did know Rav Kalman Levine Hy"d personally and learned together with him while in Yeshiva, but I don't have much to personally add beyond all that has already been shared by so many others.
I do however, think it is worth relating a small part of what I saw and heard Thursday night while visiting the Levine and Twersky families:
** Rav Kalman was unusually careful when it came to his financial dealings with others. When it came time at the end of the month to report his hours to his Kollel in order to collect his monthly check, he would omit the 5 minutes he took from seder to prepare for each tefilla. He wasnt sure if his preparation for tefilla was justified as counting towards his hours of learning and he therefore did not report it with the rest of his hours.
** One of his sons related that as Rav Kalman approached age 50, he would avoid telling people exactly how old he was whenever the subject arose. His family didn't understand why but never thought much of it. This week during shiva they discovered the reason behind it. The Torah says that a Levi over the age of 50 is no longer suitable to serve in the Beis Hamikdash. As he approached age 50, Rav Kalman was upset by the fact that he would not have the opportunity to participate in the avoda in the mikdash and therefore didn't want to discuss his exact age. It was similarly related that every morning during shacharis, Rav kalman would run to wash the hands of the kohanim. He might have been too old for avoda in the mikdash, but he still could serve the kohanim by washing their hands each morning and he literally jumped at the opportunity to do so.
** While I was in the Levine's apartment, Rav Rubin - the rav of the shul where the attack took place - came to be menachem avel. When Rav Rubin sat down, Rav Kalman's son said that the family believed that this was from Hashem and it was Rav Kalman's predestined time to be killed. Rav Rubin immediately interjected that the people in the Beis medrash that day were not just killed. They were offered up as korbanos. Rav Rubin said that this is what Rav Chaim Kanievsky had told him earlier that day (I believe this has since been publicized) - that at least on some level, these korbanos were taken by Hashem as a kapara for our generation to hasten the coming of Mashiach.
** Rav Rubin related how Rav Kalman was literally the spirit of the whole community during hakafos on Simchas Torah. "Without Rav Kalman" said Rav Rubin "we wouldn't have Simchas Torah in our shul". He compared it to the description of the Vilna Gaon who reportedly danced with special energy and fervor during hakafos on Simchas Torah.
** For years, Rav Kalman davened neitz at the earliest possible time in the morning. He was not an active participant in the Shacharis minyan last Tuesday morning, but rather he had already finished davening elsewhere and had to that shul to discuss something with Rav Rubin. He was learning in the back of the shul while the minyan was still going until Rav Rubin was available. His sons related that it was not typical for Rav Kalman to leave his tefillin on after finishing to daven Shacharis. Last Tuesday however, Rav Kalman decided to leave his tefillin on while he went to go speak with Rav Rubin. Rav Kalman was ultimately killed while learning with his tefillin still on.
** Rav Twersky's family related that he would not always go to the mikveh before davening in the morning. Last Tuesday morning however, he decided to go to the mikveh before going to daven Shacharis.
** The last words that Rav Twersky reportedly said to his daughter were "Ad bias goel" - A reference to coming of mashiach. This was a somewhat unusual thing for him to say. What is perhaps more notable is what was related by the person who was serving as chazzan in the minyan that morning. Apparently the last words of chazaras Hashatz that were said before the massace began was "Umeivi goel...". Rav Twersky's life indeed ended with the words referencing the "bias goel".
** As he was leaving the shiva house, Rav Rubin told the children that just as a parent leaves a physical inheritance, he also leaves a spiritual inheritance of character traits and Avodas Hashem. And just as physical inheritance is divided among the children, so too the spiritual inheritance can be divided. With so many impressive traits to go around, each child should choose one or two aspects of their fathers life that touched them and spoke to them, and work to become great in these areas, thereby carrying on their fathers legacy.
ובלע המות לנצח ומחה ה' אלקים דמעה מעל כל פנים וחרפת עמו יסיר מעל כל הארץ כי ה' דבר
I add one story: My daughter has a teacher named Rav Neuvort [son of the author of Shmiras Shabbos Ki-hilchaso]. He told the girls that he was planning to daven in that minyan on that fateful morning but he was five minutes late. True to his "yekke" heritage, he didn't want to be late and have to rush through the davening, so he left and waited for the next minyan. His desire to daven properly might have saved his life....
Teaneck Is Nice But ....
In 1913, a colleague of Rav Kook suggested [Igrot R'iyah 2/154] that he go to chutz la-aretz to serve as Rov. Rav Kook was shocked by the suggestion! Chas Vi-shalom!! In his words "וביחוד תמיהני על עצתו
לצאת לחו"ל לקבל רבנות, שממש אם יתנו לי מלוא חללא דעלמא
בשביל רגע אחד של נשימת אוירה הקדושה של א"י, ולעומת זה אם כל כסף וזהב
שבעולם יתנו לי בשביל נשימה אחת של אויר הטמא של ארץ העמים, בוז אבוז להם, זולת אם
יזדמן איזה צורך גדול בשביל קדושה כללית, שאז הבטיחונו קדושי עליון שכשיוצאים
לחו"ל על מנת לחזור באופן המצווה ע"פ התורה הולך אויר א"י עם הדבק
באהבת ידידות קדושתה, ובדרך רוחני גם המקום שעומד עליו יש בו קצת בחינת
קדושת א"י, אבל לעזוב את מקום בית חיינו, ולצאת לחו"ל, שדומה כעובד
עבודה זרה,
תימה אקרא על עצה כזאת שתצא מפי גברא רבה דכוותיה נ"י
If someone would give me all of the treasures of the world in exchange for one minute of breathing the holy air of Israel or if I am offered me all of the money in the world for one breath of the impure air of chutz la-aretz, I will laugh it away. UNLESS, there is a great need to go for the greater Jewish community, in which case the mekubalim promise that if one goes to chutz la-aretz temporarily if he is so commanded by the Torah, the air of Israel goes along with this person and his love of its holiness, and spiritually speaking the place where he is also has a bit of Eretz Yisrael in it. But to leave the place of our life and vitality and go to chutz la-aretz, which is like serving idols [Ksubos 110], I wonder how such a great person as you can offer such advice....??!
In his halacha sefer Mishpat Kohen [147] he challenges the heter to leave Israel in order to daven at the graves of tzadikim. You want kedusha, he says, stay home!:-)
If someone would give me all of the treasures of the world in exchange for one minute of breathing the holy air of Israel or if I am offered me all of the money in the world for one breath of the impure air of chutz la-aretz, I will laugh it away. UNLESS, there is a great need to go for the greater Jewish community, in which case the mekubalim promise that if one goes to chutz la-aretz temporarily if he is so commanded by the Torah, the air of Israel goes along with this person and his love of its holiness, and spiritually speaking the place where he is also has a bit of Eretz Yisrael in it. But to leave the place of our life and vitality and go to chutz la-aretz, which is like serving idols [Ksubos 110], I wonder how such a great person as you can offer such advice....??!
In his halacha sefer Mishpat Kohen [147] he challenges the heter to leave Israel in order to daven at the graves of tzadikim. You want kedusha, he says, stay home!:-)
לרפואת אליענה נעמי בת איילת יוכבד בתוך שח"י
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Rav Kook On Death
From VBM - R' Hillel Rachmani
Writes HaRav Kook - "Death is an illusion, its defilement (tum'a) is its deception; what people refer to as death is actually the epitome of life. Yet through the superficial vision into which man is plunged by following his inclincation, he paints the epitome of life as a dark and dreary picture which he calls death."
If death is good, why then does the Torah fight against the defilement of death? Why is the priesthood commanded to avoid any contact with death? Rav Kook continues:
"The holy priests must shield themselves from this falsehood, so long as this lie rules the world. They must protect their eyes from this vision which engrains this mistake upon the soul, hence they shall not come into contact with the dead, they shall not defile themselves."
The Kohanim remind us of the correct perspective on death. By distancing themselves from the dead and its defilement, they protest against our mistaken view of death. Death is not bad, but rather, it is the epitome of life.
This approach is the exact opposite of that of Rav Soloveitchik z"l and his "Halakhic Man": for him, death is feared and reviled. Through learning the laws of mourning, the approach of Brisk attempted to give death objectivity, in order to free themselves from the fear of death.
The Nazir, editor of Orot Ha-Kodesh, organized Rav Kook's philosophy in this order on purpose; the initial shock of chapter 40 will enable us to appreciate the contents of chapters 41 and 42, in which we discover that the resurrection of the dead is the holy of holies, transcending the greatness of death. Death functions as a necessary transition to the ultimate level.
In chapter 41, Rav Kook writes (ibid.):
"The fear of death is a general sickness of man, a function of sin. Sin created death. Repentance is the sole cure to obliterate death from this world."
Because of sin, man views death as final. This is readily understandable - when man is engulfed in a world of materialism, death represents to him the final end. What is perplexing, however, is Rav Kook's statements about sin having created death. If death should be understood as the epitome of life, then, on the contrary, the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden created life!
We seem to have discovered an internal contradiction in Rav Kook's approach to death. On the one hand, chapter 40 tells us how "great" death is. Yet, on the other hand, chapter 41 relates to death as a blemish, the product of sin.
To resolve this contradiction, we must skip to a paragraph in chapter 42 (ibid.), where Rav Kook describes the level of man before and after the sin in the Garden of Eden. Before the sin, man lived on the supreme level of the unity of body and soul. The taste of the tree was like the taste of the fruit. Then, man's sin separated the body and the soul.
It is important to distinguish between three different stages: this world, the world of death, and the resurrection of the dead. Our three stages represent the levels of the secular, the holy and the holy of holies. Our view of death (the holy) depends on our point of departure. If we look down upon death from the stage of the resurrection of the dead (the holy of holies), death indeed is a retrogression. However, if we look up at death from this world (the secular), we see death as a progression. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve existed on the supreme level of the holy of holies, the level of the resurrection of the dead. When they sinned and introduced death into the world, the reality of death was a tragic retrogression. Thus we have resolved the contradiction we encountered in Rav Kook's writings.
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