The Jewish Secret

A Message from the Kalever Rebbe Parshas Nitzavim-Vayelech 5784 Pray for every Jew regardless of his behavior The Rebbe Shlita with a Jewish boy, many years ago. "You are all standing this day before the Lord, your God." (Devarim 29:9) Love Every Jew R' Avraham Meir of Warsaw had the merit to be the individual who sounded the Shofar for the Yismach Yisroel from Aleksandra. He once asked his Rebbe to explain to him the deepest secrets of that mitzvah, to teach him how to ensure that his mitzvah would fulfill the Will of the Heavens. "The key is to love every single yid, regardless of where and who he is," replied the Rebbe. "I don't mean," continued the Rebbe, "that you must also love all the yidden who daven every day, or also those who only attend shul on Shabbos or Yom Kippur. That is obvious. "I mean that you must love even the simplest, most uneducated yid, who behaves as follows: "He walks around on Yom Kippur and wonders why the stores are all closed. And, when he learns that it is the Day of Judgement, a holy spark is ignited within his innermost being and runs home and tells his family, 'We need to rush to shul. Today is the Day of Judgement. And, I remember that my grandfather used to go to shul and daven on this day.' 'But, I haven't had time to cook anything and all the stores are closed' explained his wife. "So, this yid goes hunting and brings back a rabbit for his wife to cook. And, while she is preparing a festive meal, he shaves and cleans himself up. Then they sit down and enjoy their lunch. "When they finish, the husband rides his horse to shul. When he arrives at the shul's gates, he says, 'Hashem! I know that I am an uneducated fool. I never learned how to daven or read. But, I thank you for everything that has happened in the past and I ask you to help me in the future.' Then, the yid rides home. "You must even love a yid such as this," the Rebbe concluded. This idea expressed by the Aleksander Rebbe is aligned with the teaching of the AriZal who wrote (Shar HaKavanas, Drushei Birchas HaShachar) that before someone davens they need to accept upon themselves the mitzvah to love every yid. When you love every yid unconditionally, then your tefilos join with all the tefilos of the Jewish people and Hashem accepts those prayers. A Tale of Two Brothers You must love every yid because they have a neshama, a holy spark that is literally a divine portion from Above. Therefore, you must love the essence of every yid even if they behave inappropriately. You should despise these despicable behaviors, but you should love the person because his essence is his neshama. This is the deep concept underlying the power of the Shofar and the tefilos in the holy days. The power of unconditional unity and achdus sweetest the judgement on the Jewish people. The Seforim HaKedoshim often explain this power of achdus with the following parable: Once there were two brothers named Reuven and Shimon. Hashem blessed Reuven with extraordinary wealth. However, he was very frugal. Shimon, on the other hand, was extremely poor. When Shimon's daughter reached the marriageable age, Shimon was unable to afford her wedding. With nowhere else to turn, he decided to ask his wealthy brother for help. When he knocked on his brother's door, the butler answered. Shimon asked him to let his brother know that he was there. When the butler told Reuven that his brother was at the door, he knew immediately that his brother was there for money. He instructed his brother to tell the guest that he didn't have a brother named Shimon. Shimon left in utter disgrace. He was humiliated. On his way home, he stopped by their father's home and told his father everything that happened. His father was silent. But, he didn't forget. Time passed and Reuven decided to visit his father. However, when he arrived, his father did not welcome him warmly. Rather, he coldly asked, "Who are you?" "Father, you don't recognize me? I am your son, Reuven." But, the father insisted that he did not know him. Reuven persisted and finally broke down and cried, "Father! Why don't you recognize me!?" "I have a son named Shimon," answered his father, "if you say that you are not his brother, then clearly you are not my son." The message of this parable is obvious. When someone davens and they seek Heavenly help and blessings, they need to have unconditional love for all of Hashem's children. He needs to remember that Hashem loves all of his children, like a father, even if they haven't behaved properly. When you love each yid like a brother, unconditional and without judgement, then you can daven like a son before a merciful Father. Prepare with kindness Therefore, we see that many tzaddikim and great people try to do acts of kindness and be charitable before davening during these holy days. They work to strengthen the idea of achdus for they know that it is a critical prerequisite to tefilos being answered. My Mechutan, R' Shmuel Vozner Ztz"l, the author of the Shevet HaLevi, told me in the name of R' Yosef Tzvi Dushinski Ztz"l, that the Chasam Sofer once came late to shul for Kol Nidrei on Yom Kippur, and he explained that he was delayed because he was working on arranging a marriage for an orphan. Pray for every Jew This is the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah and we read, "You are all standing this day." This day is referring to Rosh Hashanah (Zohar Volume III, 231a). When you are "standing" in shul on the "day" of Rosh Hashanah, you are "all" standing there together "before the Lord, your God..." Every yid, regardless of his current spiritual status, stands closely before Hashem who loves them like a father who loves his children. Therefore, this is a time to focus on and strengthen your sense of love for every yid. Your prayers need to have in mind everyone who needs help and salvation, even the yidden who don't behave properly, who have made mistakes, who are struggling spiritually. You need to daven for every yid to be blessed with a sweet year, spiritually and physically. Kaalov Headquarters - 188 Hewes St, Brooklyn, NY, 11211 unsubscribe