The Tefillah of the Tzaddik Protects Am Yisrael
(א טז) “וימתו ‘ה לפני בקרבתם אהרן בני שני מות אחרי משה אל ‘ה וידבר”
From the fact that the Torah mentions the death of Aharon’s sons at the beginning of the parashah that speaks about the avodah of Yom Kippur, Chazal learn (Yerushalmi Yoma 1 1): “That just like Yom Kippur atones for Am Yisrael, so, too, the death of tzaddikim atones for Am Yisrael.”
But Harav Chizkiyah Feivel Plaut, the Rav of Shuran, added that there is a condition: Just like Yom Kippur atones only for those who repent, the death of tzaddikim atones only for those who repent. As Chazal say (Sanhedrin 37a) after the passing of Rav Zeira, the Biryonim who lived in his neighborhood said: Until now, we sinned and Rav Zeira would ask for mercy for us in his tefillah that we should not be punished. But now, if we continue to sin, who will ask for mercy for us?! And upon this thought, they did complete teshuvah.
Likutei Chever Ben Chaim Vol. II p. 88
