Stories Of Greatness

There is an intrinsic difference between the natural state of klal Yisrael and the nations of the world. There is no real concept of achdus (unity) between one gentile and the next. Whatever “achdus” they possess is not intrinsically part of their makeup; it is superficial and self-serving. The achdus of klal Yisrael, however, is a reality. It is part and parcel of the Jewish people.

Parshas VaYikra introduces the concept of Korbanos, which is meant to atone for our sins. The worst of all punishments consists of “riches hoarded by their owner to his misfortune” (Koheles 5:12). When Hashem wants to inflict a particularly severe punishment upon someone, He first lets him rise in social status. He allows him to live a pleasure-filled life in the midst of a society that reflects his own values. At that point, once he has grown accustomed to leading a life of luxury and has become known in “high society,” Hashem takes away his wealth. This principle (that the bestowal of wealth may end up being a punishment) is applicable in every area. “Wealth” does not necessarily mean money, but may include honor, abilities, and children. Indeed, everything that a person benefits from may constitute “wealth” that may be to the detriment of its owner. We must always remember that if we do not possess a certain kind of “wealth,” it is because His will is not to give it to us. It is not because He does not love us. On the contrary, it is precisely because Hashem does love us that He doesn’t give us benefits in excess. His will is motivated by His love and desire to help us.

After the turn of the 20^th Century, one of Orthodox Jewry’s great rabbinic authorities and a leader who guided his people with extraordinary wisdom, care, and concern was the Lutzker Rav, Rav Zalman Sorotzkin zt”l. His influence and contributions to Yiddishkeit began well before World War I and continued until his very last day. Virtually no sphere of Jewish communal life was left untouched by his guiding hands, and his magnum opus, sefer Oznayim LaTorah, is still considered a classic of Jewish literature until this day. In 1914 (5674), World War I broke out and Rav Zalman fled to Minsk, where he continued his communal work unabated.

With great effort and perseverance, while sanctifying and purifying himself and abstaining absolutely from the pleasures of the world, the holy tzadik, Chacham Rabbeinu Yaakov Abuchatzeira zt”l, became so immersed in the revealed and hidden aspects of the Torah, that “no secret was hidden from him.” (Daniel 4-6) With great purity and depth, he studied Kabbalah until he was as familiar with the paths of the hidden Torah as he was with the streets of his hometown, Tafilalet, Morocco. He developed many disciples, both his very close students in his renowned yeshivah, as well as the masses who flocked to hear the word of Hashem, receive blessings and advice, and to have their cases judged before him.

The early 1950s was an especially terrible time for Jews in the Soviet Union, a period filled with terror and dread. With a maniacal tyrant leading the country, Joseph Stalin’s infamous “Doctors’ Plot” was at its peak, and Russia’s Jewish physicians were disappearing rapidly. People were being purged left and right, never to be heard from again. Around the world, Jews wept and pleaded for Divine salvation, but there was none yet in sight.

In the early part of the 20^th Century, a young girl stood near her father on the dock of a Polish harbor, a steamer trunk at her feet. Out of her nine siblings, 12-year-old Rose was the child chosen to be sent to the “golden land,” America. Life in Poland was hard, hunger a constant visitor in her home. After much scraping and pinching, her family saved enough for a single one-way ticket to the United States. And Rose, the youngest of the nine, was the lucky one chosen to go.