Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev

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mi`veid Volume XI- Issue 21

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Double Torah Teasers!

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This week’s issue of

c"kv in ohtmuhv ohrcs
is sponsored by the DRS Parent
Living By Them Council as a ‫ זכות‬for a
‫ רפואה שלימה‬for Zack Englander,
By Rephael Jacobs, 12th Grade
.‫זכריה קלמן הכהן בן יעל מרגלית‬

You shall observe My decrees and My judgements, which man shall carry out and live by
them. (18:8)
Rashi explains that "v'chai bahem," "and live by them," is a reference to Olam
Habah, the World to Come. In the Talmud (Chullin 142a), Chazal state this fact in regard PARSHAS
to the two mitzvos for which the reward of long life is recorded in the Torah: Kibud Av ACHAREI MOS—KEDOSHIM
v'Eim, honoring one's parents and Shiluach Ha'kein, sending away the mother bird. To 10 IYAR, 5770
support this idea, they recount a story in which a father instructed his son to climb a lad- APRIL 24, 2010
der to retrieve some young chicks in a nest after first sending away the mother bird. He All Zmanim are calculated by myzmanim.com for
Woodmere, NY (11598)
carried out his father's wishes, sending away the mother bird. As he was climbing down
Candle Lighting: 7:24 pm
the ladder with the young chicks, however, he slipped and fell off the ladder. He subse- Latest ‫קריאת שמע‬: 9:28 am
quently died as a result of his fall. Certainly, if arichas yamim, longevity, was to occur in ‫ שבת‬Ends: 8:28 pm
this world, why did the boy die? He was fulfilling not one, but two mitzvos whose reward
is longevity. This supports the thesis that "chaim," life, is a reward which one "collects" in
Olam Habah.
Nachlas Tzvi tells over an incredible story that reinforces the concept of "life" in
Olam Habah. It happened that during the Russian Kaiser's birthday, a group of young
Jewish chilren were forcibly taken from their families and conscripted into the army. This week’s issue of
These Cantonists, as they were called, were lined up at the river under the watchful eye of c"kv in ohtmuhv ohrcs
the priest who was to baptize them. One can only begin to imagine the emotions of these is also sponsored by
young children at this most tragic moment. The signal was given, and they were told to Dr. and Mrs. Jay Bienenfeld
.‫לזכר נשמת פרימה בת מרדכי הלוי‬
(Continued on page 2)

The Key To Eternal Life

By Baruch Schonbrun, 12th Grade
Martyrdom is demanded of a person only rarely. He must allow himself to be killed rather than cause a chillul
Hashem, a desecration of the holy Name. He must also be prepared to die rather than commit one of the three cardinal sins
— idolatry, illicit relations and bloodshed. Otherwise, he is allowed to violate any prohibition in the Torah in order to save
his life.
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 74a) derives these guidelines from the verse, “And you shall keep My decrees and My
laws, that a person shall do them, and he shall live by them, I am God.” The Torah wants the Jew to “vechai bahem, live by
them,” not to die by them. If you have to eat chametz on Pesach in order to survive, do so. If you have to desecrate the Sab-
bath to save your life, do so. If you have to eat nonkosher food to avoid starvation, do so. Your first priority is to “live by
them,” not to die.
There is a general misconception about this passage in the Talmud. At a cursory glance, the Talmud seems to be
saying that life is a higher value than the fulfillment of the mitzvos. But what does this mean? How does one define the life
that is so precious even though it is devoid of mitzvos? What makes it so precious? Watching the sunrise on the beach?
Reading a good book? Sipping a cup of heavenly coffee?
(Continued on page 3)
2 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל”ב‬
Torah Teasers
By Rabbi Moshe Erlbaum
‫פרשת אחרי מות‬
Questions
1. Where is dirt, ‫עפר‬, mentioned in the ‫ ?פרשה‬b) What other ‫ מצוה‬in
the Torah involves taking some dirt?
2. Where is the first time in the Torah where ‫ עפר‬is mentioned?
3. Where in the ‫ פרשה‬is a ‫גורל‬, a lottery performed?
4. Where else in the Torah is a lottery performed?
5. As part of the ‫ יום כיפור‬service, the ‫ כהן גדול‬sprinkled blood seven
consecutive times at various locations. Where is the first time in
the Torah that someone performed an action ‫שבע פעמים‬, seven
consecutive times?
6. What person and object appear in the same ‫ פסוק‬who are different
only by five?
Answers
1. When a bird or a wild animal is slaughtered, its blood must be
covered with dirt. b) In ‫ פרשת נשא‬the ‫ כהן‬takes some dirt from the
floor of the ‫ משכן‬to mix with some water as part of the recipe for
the ‫מי סוטה‬, the waters given to a suspected adulteress.
2. The first time where dirt is mentioned is in the creation of Man.
Hashem took ‫עפר מן האדמה‬, dirt from the ground and formed man
from it.
3. A lottery was performed to decide which goat was to be brought
as a sacrifice and which goat was to be used as the ‫שעיר לעזאל‬,
scapegoat.
4. In ‫פרשת פנחס‬, Hashem first commands that the Land of Israel be
divided up among the tribes through a lottery.
5. In ‫פרשת וישלח‬, ‫ יעקב‬bows down to his brother ‫ עשו‬seven
consecutive times.
6. ‫אַהֲרן‬, the High-Priest, and the ‫אָרן‬, the holy ark, both appear in the
second ‫ פסוק‬of the ‫פרשה‬. They are different in their spelling by
only the letter ‫ הֵא‬which has the ‫גמטריא‬, the numerical value of
five.
‫פרשת קדושים‬
Questions
1. Where is the first place in the Torah that ‫קדושה‬, holiness
appears?
2. Where is the second place in the Torah that ‫קדושה‬, holiness
appears?
3. Which three mitzvos pertain to ‫פאות‬, corners/edges?
4. What single mitzvah pertains to the number 3, 4 and 5?
5. What law in this ‫ פרשה‬involves a blind person? b) What law in
the next ‫פרשה‬, ‫ אמר‬involves a blind person?
6. What three letter word appears four times in one ‫?פסוק‬
Answers
1. The first time holiness appears, in ‫פרשת בראשית‬, is in connection
to ‫ ;שבת‬The ‫ פסוק‬states "‫“ ”ויקדש אותו‬And He made it [the seventh
day] holy.”
2. The next place where holiness is mentioned is in ‫ פרשת שמות‬when
Hashem appears to Moshe for the first time at the burning bush.
Hashem commands him to take off his shoes since the place
where he was standing was "‫“ ”אדמת קדש‬holy ground.”
3. Three mitzvos refer to the corners/edges: One must not harvest
the corners of his field but must leave them for the poor. Two
additional mitzvos pertain to the head and beard. One must not
round off ‫פאת ראשכם‬, the edges of his head nor destroy the ‫פאת‬
‫זקנך‬, edge of your beard.
4. The mitzvah of ‫ ערלה‬pertains to the numbers 3, 4, & 5. Any fruit
that grows within the first three years of a tree cannot be eaten.
In the fourth year its fruit must be brought to ‫ירושלים‬to be eaten.
In the fifth year the fruit are totally permitted.
5. The ‫ פסוק‬states "‫“ ”לפני עור לא תתן מכשול‬One may not place a
stumbling block before a blind person” b) In the next ‫פרשה‬,‫אמר‬, it
states that a blind person may not serve in the ‫משכן‬. It is
considered a ‫מום‬, blemish and disqualifies him from the
sacrificial service.
6. The word ‫ ֶצדֶק‬, correct, appears four times in one ‫פסוק‬. One must
have in his possession only correct scales, correct stone weights,
correct dry measures, and correct liquid measures.
(Rephael Jacobs — Continued from page 1)
enter the water. The priest was about to issue his official proclamation wel-
coming these innocent children into the Christian religion, when something
strange happened. All of the children screamed out in unison, "Na’ase
v'nishma," "We will do and we will listen," and they jumped into the water,
but did not resurface. They went to their deaths with the same clarion cry
that their ancestors proclaimed as they stood at Har Sinai about to accept the
Torah.
This was not always the case. Many Jewish children have been bap-
tized and, ultimately, lost forever to the Jewish People. The rabbis of various
communities did everything within their means either to rescue these hapless
children or to speak to them in a manner that would encourage them not to
relinquish their faith. For example, the story is told that once Horav Yitz-
chok Izak Chaver, z”l, the famous rav of Vilkovisk, came to a small town in
Lithuania. As he entered the Jewish ghetto, he was met with the heart-
rending screams of parents whose children had been grabbed and were about
to be sent away - forever. Quickly, he removed his rabbinic garb and donned
the outfit worn by Russian/Christian peasants. He went out in the street
shaking back and forth, acting like a drunk in an advanced state of inebria-
tion. Noticing the commotion he was causing, the police called him aside
and asked to see his passport. Rav Yitzchak Izak continued his ruse, for
which he was remanded to the jail cell for the night. This was, of course, his
intent, since this was the same prison in which the children were being held
in preparation for being shipped out the next day.
Once in jail, the Rav was able to locate the children. After doing so,
he revealed his true identity to them and began to speak to them about Juda-
ism, in an attempt to inspire them for one last time before they were shipped
off to spiritual oblivion. He related stories of faith and conviction, telling
them how our ancestors had given up their lives so that they could live as
Jews. Mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice for Torah and mitzvos, is the primary
component in avodas Hashem, serving the Almighty. He implored them to
face up to the challenge that would now confront them. "Observe Shabbos,
keep kosher, and never forget Hashem - even if they rake your skin to
death." He described the strength of conviction that was exemplified by the
Asarah Harugei Malchus, ten Tanaim whose lives were taken under the most
cruel and painful means; he related the superhuman strength of Chanah and
her seven sons, all of whom gave up their lives in defiance of the king, refus-
ing to bow down to an idol.
As dawn broke, the guards came for the children. In his parting
words, the Rav turned to the children and spoke with great emotion, "Holy
children, we now are about to separate from each other. I am going to be
punished with many painful lashes because I have come to you. You are
leaving to face the most trying challenges to your faith. I do not know if I
will still be alive when you return, but we will meet again, in Olam Habah. I
hope that I will not be eternally disgraced before the Heavenly Court." Those
words, emanating from a loving heart entered into the young hearts of the
children, imbuing them with the strength and determination to withstand the
challenge to their faith.
There are so many Jews in our history whose missions' in this world
were to give up their lives for the Torah. In the Holocaust, just a generation
ago many Jews faced this task. They experienced "vchai bahem" in Olam
Habah through being moser nefesh al kidush Hashem. Baruch Hashem, in
our generation we do not face massive religious massacres. Hashem wants
our missions to be leading a lifelong task filled with Torah. Through "vchai
bahem" in this world we can fulfill our tasks and obtain "vchai bahem" for
Olam Habah.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
(From Peninim on the Torah)
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev
(Baruch Schonbrun- Continued from page 1)
This is not what the Talmud is say-
ing. Onkelos translates the words vechai
bahem as “he will live forever [in the
World to Come].” Rashi also follows that
translation, pointing out that “it cannot
mean in this world, because he will eventu-
ally die.”
Accordingly, Rav Moshe Feinstein
in Igros Moshe sees the Talmud as telling
us something totally different. On the con-
trary, the most precious thing in life is
mitzvos because we “live by them”; they
bring us to the World to Come, to eternal
life. Therefore, in case of danger it is better
to violate a prohibition of the Torah if by
doing so one will survive to fulfill many
more mitzvos for years to come. The Tal-
mud tells us (Yoma 85b), “Desecrate Shab-
bos for him once in order that he should
observe Shabbos many times.” For the
Jewish people, mitzvos are the stuff of life.
The Gerrer Rebbe offers a chassi-
dishe interpretation of this phrase, “vechai
bahem, that you shall live by them.” What
do we call “living by them”?
In the yeshivah world, one often
hears the question, “Where do you get your
chius?” Literally, this means, “Where do
you get your life?” The question touches
on a profound issue. Where do you find the
spark of life? What brightens up your day
when you get out of bed in the morning?
What excites you? What gives you the zest
for life? For some people, it is the prospect
of learning Torah. For others, it is the op-
portunity to do some good work in Jewish
outreach. And for yet others, it is the pros-
pect of a good steak or a good game of
baseball.
This, says the Gerrer Rebbe, is
what the Torah is telling us. A person
shouId “live by the mitzvos.” His chius, his
zest for life, should derive from the pros-
pect of doing miztvos. These should be the
entire raison d’être for his existence in this
fleeting material world.
Before you turn around, your life
in this world is over, even if you were
blessed with a ripe old age. It is all a
dream, an illusion. You cannot look for the
meaning of life in this world, only in the
eternal World of Truth, and only mitzvos
will bring you there. Only mitzvos will give
(Continued on page 4)
3
By Matt Lubin,
12th Grade
Corner
’‫פרק ג‬
Pirkei Avos on Mussar
...‫ חכמתו מתקיימת‬,‫כל שיראת חטאו קודמת לחכמתו‬
Numerous statements throughout the third chapter of Pirkei Avos link
Torah wisdom with doing good deeds. Besides for the obvious fact that ‫לא עם הארץ‬
‫חסיד‬, that a person can’t act properly unless he knows how to, dozens of sayings
throughout Chazal teach us that even by the very act of learning Torah, a person’s
traits become refined. ‘Even if they were completely wicked and had not forsaken
Torah, its light would have returned them to the good.’ (Yerushalmi Chagiga 1:7).
Based on this, a fundamental question can be asked regarding this entire tractate.
How could the Gemara say, that if one wants to become pious, he should learn
Pirkei Avos? Furthermore, what is the purpose for the specific study of musar, if all
of Torah has the ability to spiritually uplift a person and inspire him to act prop-
erly? Why is it that so many people find a mussar shmuess so much more
‘inspiring’ than a shiur discussing the intricacies of ritual purity?
The Ramchal, in Derech Hashem (4:2), explains that a person who learns
Torah will only be moved to righteousness according to the reverence with which
he accords his studies. However, if a person approaches his Torah learning with
frivolity, it won’t have an effect on him. It seems as though, according to the Ram-
chal, even though we are taught that if one learns Torah for selfish reasons, he will
come to learn for its own sake, that’s only if he studies with the proper seriousness.
However, if a person merely reads the words of Torah without any intention to
keep its laws or proper respect for the Giver of the Torah, its ‘light’ will have no
effect.
‘Anyone whose fear of sin comes before his wisdom, than his wisdom
stands. Anyone whose wisdom comes before his fear of sin, his wisdom will not
stand.’ Why should a person’s ability to retain Torah wisdom be dependent on his
fear of sin? The Gemara (Shabbos 31) says that the final question asked to a person
on his day of judgment is if he made ‘Yiras Hashem’ his ‘treasure store’. Just like a
person who asks for a measure of wheat also wants it to be brought in a container,
so too, fear of Hashem is the container for all our service. The implication of our
Mishnah is now clear. If a person’s initial intent when learning Torah is to serve his
Creator, then all of his Torah will be studies with awe and respect, and he will al-
low its lessons to penetrate into his very being, internalizing all that he learns. He
will, at the day of death, be able to say that he made ‘fear of Hashem his store-
house’, and his wisdom will accompany him in the World to Come. However, if a
person’s initial motivation is wisdom, and not fear of sin, he will have no
‘storehouse’ which would motivate him to internalize the wisdom that he stud-
ies.'‫ ראשית חכמה יראת ה‬.
When a person studies the Torah laws as they apply to bodily actions, the
will to perform these actions will obviously be directly related to the reverence
with which these laws are accorded. If Torah is treated with the proper respect,
then by studying its laws, a person will come to perform them properly. However,
there is an additional aspect when it comes to the study of mussar, or Torah per-
taining to the intellect and to the heart. The study of mussar gives one the direc-
tions for proper fear of sin, thereby strengthening the ‘storehouse’ which gives us
the proper perspective and inspiration for the study of ‘‫גופה של תורה‬,’ which, in turn,
will bring us to fulfillment of all the mitzvos. It is with this in mind that we prepare
to build the foundation with Pirkei Avos in preparation for the receiving of the To-
rah on Shavuos.
Have a great Shabbos!
4 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל”ב‬
(Baruch Schonbrun—Continued from page 3)
you an everlasting, meaningful life.
You should never seek to accumulate money for its
own sake. What will it get you? A little extra pleasure in this
world? Is that life? Is that where you are expecting to find your
chius? You should work as much as you have to in order to
provide a livelihood for your family, but you should seek your
chius from doing mitzvos and chessed with your wife and chil-
dren, your family, your community, all the Jewish people. You
should seek your chius in the Torah. You should seek your
chius in building a close relationship with the Master of the
Universe. That is the key to eternal life.
All Jews are responsible for each other. Therefore, if a
Jew sees another committing a sin, he must rebuke him and set
him straight. But how does one rebuke another Jew? This is a
very difficult thing to do. In fact, it is one of the most difficult
mitzvos to perform properly.
The final words of the commandment are “velo sisa
alav cheit, and you shall not bear a sin over him.” What ex-
actly does this mean? Rashi explains that if you embarrass the
person you are rebuking, you are committing a sin. This is an
important guideline for the mitzvah of giving rebuke. It must
be done carefully, discreetly and oh so gently. Otherwise, you
will embarrass him. Then you will not only have failed in your
rebuke, but you will also have committed a very grave sin.
Rav Gedaliah Schorr suggests a further interpretation
based on a variant trabslation of the words “velo sisa alav
cheit”. They can be read as “do not raise up the sin over him.”
Do not magnify the sin and minimize the person.
If you see someone doing a sin, do not place the em-
phasis on the magnitude of the sin. Do not say, “How could
you do such a terrible thing?” You are raising up the sin over
him, dwarfing him by the magnitude of what he has done. You
are making the person feel about two inches tall. This is not the
way to offer rebuke. It is offensive, and it is also almost guar-
anteed to be ineffective. Better to place the emphasis on the
person and say, “How could a person such as you do such a
thing?” Better to raise him up over the sin, to show him that to
do such a thing is beneath him, that he is too great to do such a
thing. This is the way to rebuke with genuine kindness and
lasting effect.
A rabbi was once asked to be guest speaker in a
neighboring town, and he chose rebuke as his topic. After
speaking about the importance of giving rebuke properly, he
told a story.
“I do not know this story firsthand,” he began. “But
I’ve heard many times, and I believe that it is true. The Chafetz
Chaim had a yeshivah in the Polish town of Radin. In those
days, during the early part of the 20th century, there were
many pressures on yeshivah boys. Some of their peers were
leaving their faith and seeking greener pastures in socialism,
secular Zionism or just plain secularism. I suppose it was in-
evitable that some of the boys in the yeshivos would also be
affected, that a tiny number of them would do things no ye-
shivah boy would do today.
“One of the boys in the Chafetz Chaim’s yeshivah was
caught smoking on Shabbos. The Chafetz Chaim was told
about it, and he summoned the boy to his room. The boy
stayed in the Chafetz Chaim’s room for about two minutes,
and afterward, he kept Shabbos scrupulously.
“Can you imagine what the Chafetz Chaim’s rebuke
must have been like? Ah, if only we could have an inkling of
what went on in that room for those two minutes! What did the
Chafetz Chaim say to this boy? It would be like a beacon of
light for us. I’m sure all of us would love to know what he
said. But we don’t. And so we just have to try and do the best
we can.”
After the rabbi finished speaking, a man came over to
him. His face was tear stained. “Rabbi, I can tell you what the
Chafetz Chaim said to that boy,” he declared. “You see, I was
that boy.”
The rabbi was stunned. “Please tell me,” he whispered.
“When I was called to the Chafetz Chaim’s room,” he
said, “I was terrified. What could I say to the great tzaddik?
How could I justify smoking on Shabbos? And right in his ye-
shivah! I couldn’t even justify it to myself. It was one of those
rash and foolish things young people often do without think-
ing. I walked into his room, and there, he was, his holy face
distorted in a grimace of pain. He walked over to me, his head
barely reaching to my chest, and he took my hand in his.
‘Shabbos,’ he said softly, and he began to weep. After a min-
ute, he looked up at me and said it again, ‘Shabbos.’ His hot
tears dripped onto my hands, and the sound of his weeping
penetrated my heart. That was all it took. Two minutes of the
Chafetz Chaim’s pain.”
The Chafetz Chaim did not put this boy down. He did
not berate him or belittle him. He gently but powerfully im-
pressed on him the sacred nature of Shabbos. That was the
most effective rebuke he could have given him.
One of Rabbi Akiva’s most famous sayings is, “Ve
‘ahavta lereiacha kamocha. Love your neighbor as you do
yourself. This is a fundamental principle of the Torah.” This
mitzvah is one of the pillars of the entire Torah. We find a
similar thought expressed by Hillel. The Talmud relates
(Shabbos 31a) that a prospective gentile convert to Judaism
asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torah “while standing on
one foot.” Hillel replied, “Do not do to others that which is
hateful to you. This is the essence of Torah. All the rest is ex-
planation.”
It seems to me that Rabbi Akiva was most suited to
speak about the importance and centrality of this mitzvah.
Rabbi Akiva was a great rosh yeshivah with many thousands
of students, and he experienced a shattering tragedy. All of his
twenty-four thousand students died during the Omer period
between Pesach and Shavuos. It is an incredible number, a
number that fails to penetrate the consciousness even in our
day of huge yeshivos.
How would one of us have dealt with such a blow?
(Continued on page 5)
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev
(Baruch Schonbrun—Continued from page 4)
What would we have done if all twenty-four
thousand—twenty-four thousand!—of our
students had died in one fell swoop due to
some character flaw, a catastrophe that inevi-
tably must have reflected somewhat nega-
tively on their rosh yeshivah? First, we
would, of course, have to deal with a serious
bout of depression and despondency. And if
we managed to get over that, we would
probably retire with a broken heart.
What did Rabbi Akiva do? The Tal-
mud tells us (Yevamos 62b), “When Rabbi
Akiva’s students died and the world was
desolate, he went to the south of Eretz Yis-
rael and started over again!”
Rabbi Akiva clearly had unbeliev-
able resilience. No matter how great a disas-
ter he suffered, he would find a silver lining
in the darkest cloud. He would discover
something positive, something to give him
new hope, and this would give him the
strength and the confidence to start all over
again. “All is not lost!” he would exult when
he had lost just about everything.
Rabbi Akiva lived through the de-
struction of the Beis Hamikdash. The Tal-
mud relates (Makkos 24a) that several Sages
were walking past the ruined Beis Hamik-
dash and saw a fox emerging from the site of
the Holy of Holies. They all burst into tears,
except for Rabbi Akiva, who began to laugh.
“Why do you laugh?” they asked him. He
replied, “Because if the prophecy of destruc-
tion has come true so literally, then the
prophecy of redemption will also come true
literally.”
This ability to find the glimmer of
light in the deepest darkness, to find the posi-
tive, the spark of hope, in the worst of times,
made Rabbi Akiva singularly attuned to the
mitzvah of loving others. He — more than
anyone else — was able to see the worth in
all people and love them for it.
The Baal Shem Tov give us an addi-
tional insight into the concept of loving your
neighbor “as you do yourself.” When a per-
son gets up in the morning and takes stock of
himself, he thinks, “I am basically a good
person. I have my faults and foibles; I am not
perfect. But I am more good than bad.” This,
the Baal Shem Toy says, is how we must
evaluate our neighbor. He is basically good. I
can overlook his faults.
Have a Great Shabbos.
Adapted from Rabbi Yissocher Frand
5
(Stories of Greatness—Continued from page 6)
The two emissaries gleefully reported back to the king Rabbi
Chaim's second refusal. Upon hearing, the King immediately com-
manded that Rabbi Chaim be cast into a den of lions, this being the pun-
ishment for treason.
When the police came to arrest Rabbi Chaim, he asked for per-
mission to bring along a volume of Psalms and his talit and tefilin. They
laughed at him and exclaimed, "Do you think you are going to a hotel?
You are on your way to be killed in a lions' den!" However, the Jewish
sage paid no heed to their words, and packed his bag. Unsuspecting, his
wife asked him, "Where are you going?" He answered simply, "I shall
return soon."
They took their prisoner straight to the lions' den and threw him
in. When the lion keeper heard, he strolled over to the cage, wondering if
he would be in time to see the fierce beasts tear the Jew apart.
He was amazed by what his eyes beheld. There sat Rabbi Chaim,
wearing his talit and tefilin, reciting Psalms in a loud voice, while in front
of him crouched the three lions in a semi-circle, like students before their
teacher, listening attentively to his words.
Overcome with fear, the lion keeper ran to inform the King. But
the king refused to believe him and said he would come to see for him-
self.
When the King, accompanied by his royal entourage, arrived at
the lions' den and saw this awesome sight, he became furious. He ac-
cused the keeper of having fed the lions instead of starving them for this
occasion, as he had ordered.
The keeper replied that he had indeed fulfilled the king's instruc-
tions, but the king refused to believe him. He told the keeper to take a
long pole and stick it through the bars to poke the lions to stir them up,
because obviously they were lethargic from overeating.
The keeper did so, and almost lost his arm when the first lion he
touched quickly leapt at him with teeth bared, snarling ferociously,
The king could no longer deny the evidence of his own eyes. He
proclaimed before everyone, "Now I know that there is a G-d of Israel!"
He commanded that Rabbi Chaim be retrieved from the pit, and when he
emerged he asked him for an explanation of the miracle.
Rabbi Chaim answered, "I refrained from my work because of
my immersion in the holy Torah; therefore the Torah protected and saved
me!"
The King asked his forgiveness, and sent him home in peace and
with great honor and many valuable gifts. When he arrived home, his
wife innocently asked him how things had gone. He replied, "Alright,
Baruch Hashem, but it is time to move to the Land of Israel. There aren't
the proper conditions to study Torah properly here."
Background Info: Rabbi Chaim (ben Moshe) Ibn Atar (1696 -
15 Tammuz 1743) is best known as the author of one of the most impor-
tant and popular commentaries on the Torah: the Ohr HaChaim. He es-
tablished a major yeshiva in Israel, after moving there from Morocco.
Chassidic tradition is that the main reason the Baal Shem Tov twice tried
so hard (and failed) to get to the Holy Land was that he said if he could
join the Ohr HaChaim there, together they could bring Moshiach. He is
buried outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
6 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל”ב‬

PUBLICATION
STORIES OF GREATNESS STAFF
TOLD OVER BY: KIVI NAIMAN Editors in Chief
David Freilich
Good Shabbos. This week's story is still had enough money to cover his daily ex- Yaakov Feldstein
from ascentofsafed.org and I also included a penses. So, he refused the royal commission,
"background info" section at the end. Enjoy! explaining that he was not available for work at Associate Editors
this time. Mark Lerner
Rabbi Chaim Ibn Attar - known as the The two messengers were astonished by director of production
"Ohr HaChaim" - was a leading 18th century his refusal. And being vicious haters of the Jew- Yaakov Feldstein
sage and kabbalist who lived in Morocco. There, ish people, they were overjoyed to realize that Dani Scheinman
he earned his livelihood as a silversmith. How- now they had an excellent opportunity to de- layout editors
ever, he always made Torah study his primary nounce Rabbi Chaim. They returned to the pal- Yechiel Auman
occupation, and his craft secondary. He would ace and told the King that the Jewish silversmith rabbinic articles
sit engrossed in Torah study, until his last coin had rebelled willfully and disdained the royal Avrumi Blisko
was spent, and only then did he engage in commission, and thus had dishonored the crown. Baruch Schonbrun
worldly matters. But as long as he had money, The king was also shocked, but declared student articles
he would not work. that he would give the Jew one more chance,
Production Staff
Two emissaries from the court of the since his skills were unique. He told the messen-
Jeremy Bienenfeld
King of Morocco once came to him with a cer- gers to go again and threaten the rabbi with dire Yaakov Deutcher
tain amount of gold. "The King has heard that punishments if he would not cooperate and ac- Robbie Schrier
you are the foremost expert in your craft," they cept the work.
said. "Therefore, he sent us to commission you But once again, Rabbi Chaim refused ‫סופרים‬/Authors
to fashion a piece of the finest jewelry in honor the work, insisting that he could not violate his Ari Adler
Yonatan Aivazi
of his daughter's wedding. You will be paid a principles and turn away from Torah study when Shuie Alter
princely sum. However, you must complete the he was not in need of money, not even for the Yechiel Auman
work in ten days." king. Dan Bamshad
At that time, our master, Rabbi Chaim, (Continued on page 5) David Bamshad
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