Stories Of Greatness

The commandment to eat matzah on the holiday of Pesach is prefaced with the words: “U’shmartem es ha’matzos–And you shall guard the matzos.” Jewish tradition calls for keeping watch over the matzah from the time the wheat is taken to the mill to be ground into flour, and it is kept under careful supervision to ensure that it does not come into contact with water or any other moisture.

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.

During World War II, the United States government enacted a rescue commission known as the War Refugee Board, which achieved a few notable results (although not as much as it could have), including the rescue of over 100,000 Jews and the distribution of vital relief services when the war ended. In one unique instance, roughly 1,000 refugees were brought from Italy to Fort Ontario, an abandoned army base near Oswego, New York. Vaad Hatzalah, the Orthodox relief organization, offered a wide range of support services, a model for its postwar efforts. Among the refugees were 300 Torah-observant Jews.

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.

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.