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LIGHTS OF OUR RIGHTEOUS TZADDIKIM בעזרת ה ' יתבר A Tzaddik, or righteous person , makes everyone else appear righteous before Hashem by advocating for them and finding their merits. Kedushas Levi, Parshas Noach (Bereishis 7:1) EKEV _ CHASSIDUS ON THE PARSHA + Dvar Torah Yearning and Fulfillment Moshe tells the Jewish people (8:1), “All the commandments that I command you today you shall safeguard ( tishmeru ) to perform them, so that you will live and proliferate and inherit the Land …” But what if we do not have the opportunity to fulfill all the commandments? What if circumstances prevent us from fulfilling those commandments that are specific to Eretz Yisrael? The answer, says Rav Levi Yitzchak, lies in the feelings we have for the mitzvos. If we yearn to fulfill them, then we may one day merit to actually fulfill them. The word tishmeru , you shall safeguard, can also mean you shall anticipate, as in (Bereishis 36:11) “and his father awaited ( shamar ) the matter.” The Torah is telling us that if we are filled with genuine yearning for the fulfillment of all the mitzvos then we will one day inherit the Land. n n n Story Both Rav Avraham Dov of Avritsch, author of Beis Ayin , and Rav Aharon of Zhitomir, author of Toldos Aharon , were stude nts of Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. One time, Rav Avraham Dov visited Rav Aharon and found him sick in bed. 1 Eikev / [email protected] “I’m so happy to see you, my friend,” said Rav Aharon. “And I you,” said Rav Avraham Dov. “I hope that my visit hastens your recovery.” “You can help me recover. I know what medicine will cure me.” “And what is that?” “I have to drink water from Eretz Yisrael,” said Rav Aharon. Rav Avraham Dov considered that for a moment, then he nodded. “But how can I help you?” “I’ll tell you how. You are planning to travel to Eretz Yisrael, isn’t that so?” “Yes, I am. But how would you know something like that? I haven’t told anyone of my plans. Not a soul.” “But I know. I can see it in your thoughts. In fact, your thoughts are mostly focused on Eretz Yisrael even now when you are here in the Ukraine, isn’t that so?” “Yes, it is.” “Well, you are where your thoughts are, isn’t that so?” “Yes, it is. The Ramban asks how the angels from Eretz Yisrael could have come to Yaakov before he even entered the land, and he answers that since Yaakov on his way to Eretz Yisrael, it was as if he was already there.” “Exactly,” said Rav Aharon, “and by the same token, it is as if you are already in Eretz Yisrael, too.” “All right. So how can I help you?” “Take a mouthful of water and pour it into a cup. That water will heal me.” And indeed it did. nnn הילולא The anniversary of the petira of a Tzaddik is known as a Hilula , which means “A Day of Joy”. One of the tools that Kabbola teaches is to connect to a Tzaddik (righteous person). The method to connect to a Tzaddik is to adopt the following ritual: 1) Learn the anniversary of his petira or, if this information is not available, the days of Erev Rosh Chodesh , Rosh Chodesh and the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month can be utilized for a connection. 2) Light a twenty-five-hour candle in his or her honor. There is no specific berocha . Some say the following: This candle is being lit in the merit of ______________. Others say that it is the custom within Klal Yisrael to light a yahrzeit candle on the day that a relative or a Tzaddik has passed away. The lighting has no accompanying blessing, and people would like to express themselves in a tefilla when lighting the candle. This is not only true on a yahrzeit but on every Yom Tov as well. The author of the Pele Yo’etz , Rav Eliezer Papo (1785–1828), did in fact compose such a tefilla . Rav Papo was the Rav of the city of Selestria in Bulgaria. Bulgaria was a part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. The tefilla of the Pele Yo’etz is reproduced and translated below, as a public service. 2 Eikev / [email protected] Hebrew Tefilla for Lighting a Yahrzeit or Hilula Candle [ ְ # ִ פי ָ לה ַ ה נִ ְ מ ַ צ, ת !ַ ֵ ס ֶ פ ר אֶ לֶ / ַ ה ָ מ ֵ ג' ִ מ ַ ! ַ על ַ ה ֶ ֶ לא י וֹ עֵ עַ ל ָ ָ ר ַ ת ַו ֵי ֵ צ א עָ מ וֹ ד כ"ד] ַ ה ֵ רי ִ נ י מַ ְ ד ִ ל יק נֵ ר זֶ ה לִ ְ מנ ַ חת ְל ִ ע יל י נִ ְ ַ מ ת * ִ בי / ִ א ִ מי מ וֹ ָ ר ִ תי / ַ ה ַ צ ִ ד יק ____________ ֵ !'/ ַ !ת ______ ______, ְי ִ הי ָ רצ וֹ' ִ מ ְל ָ פ ֶ ני2 ה' ֶאֵקינ ֵוא ֵ קי אֲ בוֹתֵ ינ , ֶ ְ#ַקֵ!ל ְ!ַרֲחִמי% ְבָרצוֹ' ָ(ל ַמֲעֶ)ה הַ טוֹב ֶ ,ִני עוֶֹ)ה , ֵ!י' ְ!ַמַחָ ָבה , ֵ!י' ְ!ִדי!ר , ֵ!י' ְ!ַמֲע ֶ )ה ְו ִי ְ ה ֶ יה ַ ה ֹ (ל ִל ְ זכת ְל ְ מנ ַ ח ת לְ עִ יל י לִ ְ נ ָ מ וֹ ת עַ ְ מ2 ִי ְ ) ָ ר ֵ אל, ִ ! ְ פ ָ ר ט לְ ֶנ ֶ פ ר ַ ח ְנ ָ ָ מה ֶ ל * ִ בי / ִ א ִ מי / ַ צ ִ ד יק ____________. ְי ִ הי ָ רצ וֹ' ֶ ִ # ְ ה ֶי ָ נ ה נַ ְ פ וֹ ֵ תי ֶ ה % צְ רר וֹ ת !ִ ְ צר וֹ ר הַ ַ ח ִ יי%. Translation: Behold I am lighting this lamp for the resting and uplifting of the soul of my father/my mother/the Tzaddik _______ the son/daughter of ______________. May it be Your will before you, Hashem , our G-d and the G -d of our forefathers, that all my good deeds whether in thought, speech or action be done for a merit and a re sting and an elevation of the souls of your nation Yisrael. It should be especially for the soul of my father/mother/the Tzaddik _____. May it be Your will that their souls be bound in the bond of life. 3) Learn about the person including history, culture, writings and teachings. 4) Study some of his teaching or writings. See more at: www.yeshshem.com/hilulah.htm n n n n n Y GEDOLIM BE'MISASAM YOSER Z YAHRZEITS BEGINNING SHABBOS EIKEV http://www.chinuch.org/gedolim_yahrtzeit/Av Biographical information and yahrzeits compiled by Reb Manny Saltiel and www.anshe.org rdrdrd + 222222 of Menachem Av ~ Begins Friday Night (Jul 30 th ) Rav Mordechai ben Hillel, the “Mordechai” (~1230 –1298). A descendent of the Ravya , he was a principal talmid of the Maharam miRottenberg , and a close friend of the Rosh . The Mordechai cites views of French and German authorities and brings the piskei Halocha of the Tosefos without the discussion. He, his wife and their five children were all burned at the stake during the Rindfleisch pogroms, when over 100,000 Jews in Bavaria and Austria were murdered, and well over a hundred communi ties disappeared, (5058/1298); Rav Meir HaGodol of Premishlan. One of the closest Chassidim of the Ba’al Shem Tov ; his grandson (also Rav Meir) became more famous than he, (5533/1773); Rav Eliyohu HaKohen Dushnitzer , Mashgiach of Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikva, mechaber of Nachlas Eliyohu . He was involved with the famous dybuk story, which also involved the Chofetz Chaim , (5709/1949); Rav Shmuel Meyuchas of Yerushalayim, (5531/1771). rdrdrd st + 232323 of Menachem Av ~ Begins Motzai Shabbos (Jul 31 ) Rav Moshe Adas , a Se fardi sage from Yerushalayim, mechaber of Poras Yosef , (5729/1969); Rav Dovid Sutton Dabbah (1885–1949). Born and raised in Aleppo, Syria, he married in 3 Eikev / [email protected] 1910, and was asked to serve as the Rav of Killis, Turkey, near the Syrian border. He returned to Syria in 1916, but his wife passed away at the age of twenty-five one year later. He remarried in 1918, and left for Yerushalayim in 1924, as daily life for Jews in Syria became quite difficult. Settling in the Bucharim neighborhood, he studied at the Yeshiva Poras Yosef . Several years later, he traveled to Argentina, hoping to raise funds for the Jews of Yerushalayim. Shortly after his arrival, the leader of the Syrian community in Argentina, Rav Shaul Sutton, was niftar , and Rav Dovid was asked to succeed him. He became Rav and Av Bais Din of Buenos Aires and authored Yaaleh HaDas , chiddushim on gittin and mishpetei Bais Din , (5709/1949); Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky , the Steipler Gaon , mechaber of Kehillas Yaakov (1899– 1985/5745). His father, Rav Chaim Peretz, was a shochet in Hornesteipel. When Rav Chaim Peretz was sixty years old, his wife passed away, leaving him with three daughters. He asked his Rav , Rav Mordechai Dov, the son-in-law of Rav Chaim Sanzer, whether he should remarry. On the latter’s recommendation, he married a young woman, and he fathered three sons.