“If two (people) are traveling on a journey (far from civilization) and one has a pitcher of water, if both drink, they will (both) die; but if only one drinks, he can reach civilization. The son of Peturah taught, ‘It is better that both should drink and die, rather than one should behold his companion’s death.’ Until Rabbi Akiva came and taught: ‘That your brother may live with you’ – “chayecha kodmin” – your life takes precedence over the life of your neighbor.”
In the transit camp known as Atlit, near Haifa, groups of young children, orphaned survivors of the Holocaust and Communist Russia, were brought under the auspices of the Jewish Agency (a non-religious organization bent on assimilating religious youth who had grown up in a Torah environment) with the intention of transferring them to other camps and ultimately to permanent homes. These children, known as the “Yaldei Tehran” because they arrived in the Land of Israel through a circuitous route that took them through Tehran, the capital of Iran, had spent three years running from the dreaded Nazis, wandering from place to place, leaving behind warm and safe homes, parents and siblings, and enduring hunger, deprivation, and unbearable conditions.
Now, as they finally arrived in the Holy Land, the Jewish Agency subjected them to ideological brainwashing. Those in control of the transit camps were intent on using any method necessary to destroy all vestiges of Yiddishkeit from these poor souls; it was their belief that there was no place for religious observance in a land that required much work and sweat, and they had no qualms about ripping away Torah and mitzvos from the minds and hearts of these unfortunate and innocent children.
In terms of a practical response, there was very little that the rabbanim and religious organizations in Israel and abroad could do. The Jewish Agency controlled the money and the resources needed to house, clothe, and feed the children, and although they did so in a most arrogant and heartless manner – forcing children who had seen their parents killed in front of them to renounce the values their parents held so dear – they had the final say and the decision-making authority.
One man, however, sprang into action. The Ponevezher Rav, Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman zt”l, refused to sit by and let these children wallow. With cunning ingenuity, he managed to whisk 30 children away from Atlit and, in a further display of his organizational creativity, he managed to house them in a makeshift shack on the outskirts of Bnei Brak.
With what little money he had, he set up a small kitchen and bought metal bedframes for the beds. There was just one problem: What good are metal bedframes without mattresses, blankets, and pillows? For these items, he knew he was going to have to come onto the kind donations of his fellow Jews – and nobody made a pitch better than the Ponevezher Rav!
The following Shabbos – one day before the 30 children were set to arrive – the Ponevezher Rav got up to speak in the Beis Midrash HaGadol. “Rabbosai, there is a halachah that states that when a man purchases a slave, he must see to the needs of the slave before his own. If he has only one pillow, he must give that pillow to his slave and he must sleep without a pillow. The question that is asked is: What about the rule of ‘chayecha kodmin’ – in which the owner’s own needs should take precedence? Why must he give away what he needs for his own existence, so that his slave should be comfortable?
“The answer, my friends, is that the Torah understands the inner workings of a Jew. If a Jewish owner will sleep in his bed all the while knowing that his slave has nothing to sleep on, he will suffer such a deep emptiness within him that he is not at all fulfilling ‘chayecha kodmin’! After all, he is in pain! On the other hand, if he gives away his very last pillow so another Jew can be comfortable, he is so full of joy that he has literally given precedence to his own personal need to help another Jew!”
The Ponevezher Rav raised up his voice now and cried, “My dear merciful Jews, if you want to sleep peacefully in your beds at night, I will tell you how. Give your cushions, pillows, and blankets to the poor and unfortunate ‘Yaldei Tehran’ and then you will feel such a gratifying feeling of fulfillment, that you will experience ‘chayecha kodmin’ first-hand!” The next morning, he had all he needed in place!
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
