Transcript
This story is definitely one of the family favorites. I alluded to it in the last podcast. I said it when I was in Florida, and I really want it to be part of this series of The Wisdom of Unity.
So without further ado, there was once a wonderful young man whose father-in-law lived near the town of Chernobyl. Having heard so many amazing things about the Maggid of Chernobyl, Reb Nachum, he decided to check it out for himself when he arrived there as a skeptic. Itdidn’t take long for this young man to be overwhelmed by the atmosphere of holiness in the Beis Hamedrash of Reb Nachum. The learning, the davening, it was on a totally different level than he was used to.
Within a very short period of time, the young man became a Chassid of the Maggid. His father-in-law recognized right away the change in his son-in-law and was not impressed. “What do you see in this Reb Nachum? I’m supporting you so you should be able to spend your days learning Torah, and instead you’re going to spend your time by the Maggid?” With confidence the young man said, “My dear shver, just come with me for one Shabbos and experience it for yourself.”
After the davening Friday night, the young man looked over to his shver with a big smile, “Nu, what do you think?” “Ach, I’ve seen davening like this other places.” At each interval, not the davening, not the Tish, not the divrei Torah — in short, the father-in-law was unimpressed. After Shabbos was over he said to his son-in-law, “I see no reason why I should be supporting you to learn when instead you’re spending all of your time here. In fact, I’m going to the Maggid to tell him what I think.”
Reb Nachum received the man with a great smile and he heard everything he had to say, and he said, “Let me tell you a story.” Here’s the story that Reb Nachum told to the father-in-law. In the Galil during the time of the Beis Hamikdash, there was an older man who had never in his life been to the Beis Hamikdash. Every year he found another excuse why he didn’t have to go. He was convinced that he could stay at home and still be a good Jew. Then finally it happened. One Shabbos, somebody put out the candle in the bathroom. It was apparent that this saba, who sometimes can’t make it through the night without going to the bathroom, inadvertently put out the candle, and now, after all these years, he’s going to finally have to go to Yerushalayim and bring an offering for his transgression.
Well you can imagine, at every turn of the way he asked people which way to Jerusalem. Teveria, Beit She’an, Yericho. Each time people laughed at him. You’re an older man, you don’t know where Yerushalayim is? Finally, he arrived at the gate of Jerusalem and he said, “Which way to the Beis Hamikdash?” People snickered, “Oh, you don’t know where the Beis Hamikdash is?” Then, when finally he came to the Beis Hamikdash and he saw the Kohanim walking around barefoot, and the animals and the blood, he was appalled. What’s going on here? This looks like a kitchen. This looks like a slaughterhouse. Was this the Holy Temple he had imagined?
He immediately said, “I want to speak to the person in charge. I want to see the Kohen Gadol.” He expected to see some holy elderly man. When he saw this young person dressed in the bigdei kehunah, he was unimpressed. “What makes this place unique and what makes you more special than anyone else? Why do people have to come here three times during the year?” The Kohen Gadol looked at the man and said, “Why have you come here?” He said, “I have transgressed, unintentionally.” “Well tell me, is this the only time that you’ve done a transgression in all of these years?” With great confidence he said, “Yeah.”
All of a sudden, then the stones on the breastplate started to light up — beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep, and the kohen looked down and he says, “What about last year when you swore falsely during a business deal?” “Ah, oh yeah, I forgot about that, but that was the only time.” Then once again the kohen looked down — beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep, and once again the breastplate started to light up, “and what about the other time when you succumbed to your passions?” “Oh.” Before the kohen could say any more, the man said, “Oy, enough, enough. Say no more. Now I understand why people come to the Beis Hamikdash. The holiness of the place elevates a person. If I would have come here all these years, certainly I wouldn’t have transgressed.”
As the Maggid finished his story, he looked over at the father-in-law and he was in shock. In a loving way, the Maggid was able to relate the transgression that this man had committed. “Rebbe, Rebbe, don’t say any more. Now I understand why my son-in-in-law feels a need to come here, and I think I’ll join him.”
Everyone really loves this story. For many reasons, it fits in so well with what we’ve been talking about in this series. The father-in-law couldn’t understand the importance of connecting with tzadikim. It was beyond his limited mindset. He thought he could stay at home and still be a good Jew. He couldn’t fathom how a connection to tzadikim in the Beis Hamikdash could elevate him, inspire him and help him not transgress, and especially his inability to grasp the loftiness of sacrifices, what we’re talking about right now.
We just spoke about this spectacular event, the Passover Lamb, where every single family travelled to the Holy Temple, and everyone participated in the Korban Pesach. In this week’s parsha, Acharei Mos, which outlines in great detail the Yom Kippur service, the star of the day is just one man, the High Priest. He alone performs the entire service to atone for the transgressions of the entire nation on one day when he enters the Holy of Holies. The verse in Proverbs, which is the book of parables, Chapter 3, Verse 15 says, “Yekarah hi mipninim,” more valuable than pearls.
Many times throughout the Talmud it explains that this verse as talking about the tzaddik, someone is a talmid chacham, who possess da’as, the wisdom of unity. He is greater than a Kohen Gadol who goes lifnai u’lifnim, to the inner chambers — similar to pnimim. This aligns exactly to the Gemara that I’ve quoted many times. Great is both da’as and Beis Hamikdash. Anyone who possesses da’as, it’s as if they built the Beis Hamikdash.
The great Maggid of Chernobyl equates the two because they’re one and the same. Now we’re in the period of time, Sefiras Ha’Omer, leading up to the great hilulah, the festival of Lag B’Omer, the day that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai left his world.
In weeks to come I hope very much to talk more about Rabbi Shimon and the power of tzaddikim to mitigate harsh dins on the Jewish people. Through these great tzaddikim, may the world be full of da’as, the wisdom of unity, and then the world will align with the Third Temple and Hashem will bring the Moshiach speedily in our days.
