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May 22, 2013 /13 Sivan, 5773
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The Tosfos Yomtov was convinced that the death of 300,000 –600,000 Jews during the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 were because of improper Tefila. Communicated: Tefilla

Chillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.



Stories of Yom Kippur


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“However to make sure that the bank does not question the validity of this check and how you came to receive it, go back into the yeshiva and call out two boys to act as witnesses to this transaction,” he said.

The woman obediently reentered the yeshiva and called out two young men who were told about the entire transaction. “You will also witness my signature on this check and note which I will give to this woman,” he said. He then wrote out a note directing the president of the bank to honor the check and with that he departed.

The woman was too astonished to say another word as she went home. She thought it might be a joke but as she had nothing to lose, she visited the bank the following morning.

When she presented the check and note to the bank teller, he suddenly turned white and with a frightened look told the woman to wait while he presented it to the president of the bank. Entering the president’s office, he gave him the check and note. As soon as he looked at it, the president fell off his chair in a dead faint. The teller rushed out for help and soon the bank was in turmoil. The woman too had become frightened when a guard put her in a room so she couldn’t leave.

After a while the president was revived and he asked to see the woman. “Tell me, who gave you this check and note?” he asked.

“An old man who met mea the entrance of the yeshiva,” she replied. “And the two yeshiva boys will testify to this.”

“Could you identify the man if I showed you his picture?” he asked.

“Positively,” she said, “and so will the two yeshiva boys.”

The bank president then showed her a large picture of his father and she positively identified him as the man who gave her the check. Meanwhile the two yeshiva boys were sent for, and they too identified the picture. The bank president then directed his teller to pay the woman the full sum of the check.

He then explained the circumstances to all the people standing around. “This picture,” he said, “is the picture of my father who died ten years ago. Last night I had a strange dream. My father came to me and said in an angry tone, ‘since you married a Gentile woman, you stopped saying Kaddish for me. My soul was tormented and could find no peace until this poor woman arranged that the yeshiva should say Kaddish for all the orphan souls which included me. It was only then that my soul found peace again. Therefore I have repaid this woman. Tomorrow she will come to your bank with a check from me to enable her marry off her two daughters. Honor it so that I can continue to dwell in peace. I awoke in a fright and when I repeated the dream to my wife she laughed at me and she considered it a joke. But now I see that it was all true.”

The man retunred to the ways of his father and his wife converted to Judaism and they became pillars of the community.

“And” concluded the Gaon Rabbi Sonnenfeld, “Who do you think the two yeshiva boys were? I was one of them and the other one was the Gaon, Rav Yehuda Greenwald, later to become the Av Beth Din of Satmar and the author of the sefer, Zichron Yehuda!”

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The Maharil lived during the period of the Hussite wars, which brought misery upon the Jews of the Rhine, Thuringia and Bavaria. The Jews appealed to the Gaon to intercede with G-d for them. The mercenary soldiers entered the Jewish homes at will and took everything they could lay their hands on. Should anyone protest, they would be shot on the spot.

The following story is told about the Vilna Gaon who was called upon to decide a case of a bill that was due a doctor.

The death penalty in Judaism was seldom invoked because of the requirement for prior warning and two witnesses to the act that called for the penalty. Nevertheless, the Torah solemnly prescribes these penalties and through them one could judge the magnitude of the offense.

It was the night of Shavuos, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, and the Jews in Jerusalem adhered to the custom of remaining up all night and studying the Torah. Not all, however, could do so, and as the night wore on, a few got up to go home.

Rabi Meir was accustomed to remaining in shul each morning until every person left. He was usually the last person to leave. One day, he davened very fast and left very early. Walking outside, he thought to himself, “Why did I leave early? Is it possible that G-d ordained it so that a miracle may occur through me today?”

The Gaon Yosef Ber Solovetichik, while chief rabbi of Slutsk, was in poor financial straits. It was a poor community, and there was very little money for the rabbi. Once, a delegation from Mohlev arrived to offer the gaon the position of chief rabbi of Mohlev, which was a larger and wealthier town. The gaon, however, refused the offer.

“Wisdom is better than rubies, and all things desirable are not to be compared unto her” (Proverbs 8:2). Rabi Aha explained in the name of Rabi Tanchuma ben Rabi Chiya: “My desirable things and your desirable things are not to be compared to her.”

This is the story of a staff, the most miraculous staff that was ever created. It was none other than the staff that Moshe used to perform all the amazing miracles in Egypt.

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