בס"ד • A PROJECT OF THE CINCINNATI COMMUNITY • CINCYKOLLEL.ORG תורה מסינסי Cincinnati Torah Vol. VI, No. III Vayeira

DELVING DEEPER MECHOEL SOROKA THE RABBI WAS ASKED ADAPTED FROM ME’AH SHE’ARIM New! BY RABBI YITZCHOK ZILBERSTEIN Daily Challenges The famous Baron Rothschild once invit- ed the entire congregation to a Kiddush. This past week (11 Cheshvan) was the the rest of his life without his beloved son. Once assembled, the crowd noticed that yahrzeit of the Rosh haYeshiva (the leader) of Rabbi Finkel went on to explain that m’siras there was a full goblet of wine placed the Mir in , Rabbi Nosson nefesh, self-sacrifice, isn’t epitomized by before each person. Much to their sur- Tzvi Finkel, of blessed memory. someone giving up his life to sanctify G-d’s prise, they saw nothing else on the table; The highlight of the Rosh Hashanah name. Rather, the more significant sacrifice there was nothing on which they could prayers in the Mir, for me, was when Rabbi is often the daily struggles—the day-to-day “make a M’zonos” (recite the usual bless- Finkel would make his way up to the Ameri- challenges we all deal with. ing over baked goods, then eat them), can minyan (service), to address us before the This can explain why the Binding of following Kiddush. The guests looked at shofar blowing. The truth is that it wasn’t Yitzchak is known as a test of Avraham, and each other in bewilderment, but not necessary for him to speak—just seeing him not of Yitzchak, even though his life was being carried up the four flights, and mak- on the line. L55 CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE p ing his way to the front of the room, then The Rosh haYeshiva could never speak struggling to speak despite his illness (he about self-development without it being TIDBITS OF suffered from Parkinson’s disease for many totally apparent to us how much he worked New! years) was enough to wake us up and put on it himself. I think this idea, his definition CINCINNATI us in the proper frame of mind before the of self-sacrifice, personifies him more than JEWISH HISTORY shofar was blown. anything else. He was a visionary, building RABBI MOSHE TZVI CRYSTAL On his last Rosh Hashanah, just a few new buildings, expanding his yeshiva until it On 14 Cheshvan, 5697 (1936), Cincin- weeks before he passed away, he spoke about became the largest in today. But more nati Jewish weekly Every Friday reported Avraham’s great self-sacrifice at the Binding than that, his greatness was in overcoming on the condition of Germany’s Jews un- of Yitzchak (22:1–19). He explained that his day-to-day struggles—not missing ser- der the Nazi regime. The report stated one would think the most remarkable aspect vices in the yeshiva; never missing a lecture; that the Jews of Germany, no matter was Avraham’s willingness to sacrifice the never allowing his illness to slow him down; how assimilated, did not see a future son he had waited a hundred years to have, and, most impressive to me, never allowing for themselves in Germany, and were the son he believed would inherit the land it to remove the radiant smile from his face. concerned about what the future would Hashem had promised to give his children. One summer, I was a counselor in a bring. The situation was described in But there was something even greater: The summer camp for American teens in Israel. dire terms. Every Friday had been vocal fortitude it took to do so, knowing he would I promised them that when we reached our about the need to protest from the very then need to return home to his wife, Sarah, learning goal, I’d try to bring them to meet beginning of the regime. An article from tell her what he had done, and then live Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel. After trying unsuc- May, 1933, only several months after Hit- cessfully to arrange an official meeting at a l