Their shared dedication to yiras Shamayim—living lives infused with awe and reverence for the Divine.
The Chasam Sofer hosted his esteemed guest, Rav David Deutsch, with great honor. A special selection of baked goods had been prepared for the occasion and brought to the table. The Chasam Sofer personally took some cakes from the tray, placed them on an elegant plate, and served them to his beloved guest, inviting him to partake with the berachah over the food.
Rav David felt uneasy, caught between two conflicting concerns. His long-standing practice was eating only baked goods made from flour he had sifted. But it seemed improper to refuse the offering of the Chasam Sofer, the leading gaon of the generation.
Sensing Rav David’s hesitation, the Chasam Sofer smiled and reassured him: “Here, there is no need for concern. Know that two of my most devout and capable talmidim sift the flour in my home with the utmost care, and we rely on them completely.”
Rav David tried to decline politely, explaining that for many years, he had been stringent about not eating baked goods made from flour sifted by others, regardless of the circumstances. However, he feared that his refusal might appear disrespectful to the Chasam Sofer, implying distrust of the halachic kashrus under his supervision. Reluctantly, and out of deference to his host, he decided to eat the cakes.
With great trepidation, Rav David took one of the fresh cakes in his hands, ready to recite the blessing over it. Yet, as he held the cake, two small worms suddenly emerged and crawled out!
Rav David recoiled in shock, but the Chasam Sofer, with an understanding smile, remarked: “It seems that Heaven greatly values your stringency and has arranged for these worms to appear, so you need not compromise your established practice. These worms were not present in the flour before—it is clear they must have appeared after the baking, as any worms in the flour would have been burned in the oven. Everything has been orchestrated so that you can maintain your admirable minhag.”
Turning to the talmidim around him, the Chasam Sofer added: “From this, we must learn the extent of yiras Shamayim. If a person has accepted upon himself a good minhag or stringency upon himself, he must guard it diligently and not deviate from it under any circumstances.”
That you may learn to fear Hashem your God.
My beloved son, Rav Dov HaKohen shlita, a posek of the Edah HaChareidis in our community in Beis Shemesh, told me about an event he witnessed with his own eyes. This story contains an important lesson in pure yiras Shamayim.
Rav Yaakov Blau zt”l, a dayan and posek of the Eidah HaChareidis and the Rav of the Sanhedria neighborhood in Yerushalayim, displayed exceptional yiras Shamayim in all areas of his life.
Rav Dov HaKohen, my son, and his grandson, shared an incident from one Shabbos when he stayed with his grandfather: During the Shabbos meal, a man approached Rav Blau with a question. On Friday afternoon, a few minutes after sunset, he discovered that the Shabbos hot plate was cold and realized the plug had not been fully inserted but was dangling loosely.
The man described how he had tried to use his elbow to push the plug into place without success. Eventually, after several attempts, he managed to secure the plug, and the hot plate began to heat the food. He now wanted to know whether the food could be eaten on Shabbos.
Rav Blau was visibly shaken and exclaimed in distress: “What have you done? This is a serious transgression! You may not eat any food on that hot plate, as it was heated in violation of Shabbos laws!”
He explained that, as ruled in the Mishnah Berurah (Orach Chayim 261:6), food cooked or heated on Shabbos, even inadvertently, is prohibited for use: “Even bediavad (after the fact) if one kindled a flame or performed any other type of melachah during bein hashemashos (twilight), it is forbidden to derive benefit from it, just as if it were performed on Shabbos itself, where it is forbidden even if done unintentionally.”
Rav Dov then asked his grandfather about the ruling in the Biur Halachah (ad loc.), which permits, in some instances, reliance on the opinion of Rabbeinu Tam that sunset occurs later. If the act was performed during the twilight period (bein hashemashos), and there is halachic doubt as to whether Shabbos has begun, one may benefit from the action.
And these are the words written there: “After the case, if someone transgressed and lit, or performed another prohibited act after sunset, when there is a dispute among the poskim, one may be lenient bediavad to benefit from it. This is similar to what the Magen Avraham writes in Orach Chaim 323:11 regarding immersing new vessels, that if someone transgressed and immersed them [on Shabbos], it is permissible to use them bediavad, since there are authorities who permit it lechatchilah.”
Now, in the case of our inquiry, where the act occurred a few minutes after the time of sunset in the luach when the sun is no longer visible to the naked eye, according to several opinions, this is still not considered halachic sunset, and does not the Biur Halachah explicitly permit leniency bediavad in such cases?
Rav Blau, the great posek, provided an astonishing response, teaching an important and lofty principle in halachic rulings based on pure and uncompromising yiras Shamayim:
“I am well aware of the leniency suggested by the Biur Halacha in this matter—it has not escaped my attention,” he said. “However, this case presented to us is fundamentally different. This questioner stands here and recounts what he did—violating Shabbos after sunset—with complete calm, showing no sign of remorse or regret for the desecration of Shabbos that he committed, Rachmana litzlan! He doesn’t even bother to ask whether his actions were correct or how he should have handled the situation upon discovering the cold hot plate. Instead, he simply narrates that his family sent him here out of concern the food might be prohibited...
“With such a questioner, we must adopt a stricter stance to instill in him and teach him the proper fear of Heaven—that he must take care to avoid even the possibility of sin and not casually permit himself to act with such disregard. Anyone who carefully examines the words of the Mishnah Berurah and Biur Halacha will see how that great gaon was deeply cautious regarding the time of sunset, urging people to avoid, at all costs, even the possibility of violating a Torah prohibition. He even ruled that Shabbos’ preparations should be finished earlier to avoid any doubtful prohibitions. Only in cases of great necessity did he find grounds for leniency bediavad.
“Therefore, had this questioner come seeking ways to rectify his soul for the Shabbos desecration he committed after sunset, expressing remorse and regret, we might have exerted ourselves to find a post-facto leniency—perhaps due to the disputed timing of sunset among the authorities, or the possibility that his action was not a full-fledged prohibited act but done indirectly. However, this is relevant only in cases of a great bediavad, as explicitly stated in the Biur Halacha.
“This case before us is different. It appears to reflect a disregard for the sanctity of sunset, chas veshalom. Here, we must adopt a stricter approach to instill in him the proper yiras Shamayim, so that he learns to observe the halachah meticulously, and whoever is machmir will be blessed.”
To whom does this message apply?
It is important to emphasize that this discussion is not a halachic ruling. As stated numerous times in this forum, any practical halachic questions must be directed to a qualified halachic authority. Our intent here is solely to teach a lesson in yiras Shamayim—to exercise vigilance in avoiding even the slightest possibility of transgression, to be cautious in halachic matters, and not to casually permit oneself to act based on personal reasoning.
This is especially true regarding the critical matter of “the beginning of Shabbos,” where people sometimes tend to be lax, waiting until the very last moments before Shabbos begins, thereby entering into serious doubts of Shabbos desecration, chas veshalom. A person with wisdom and yiras Shamayim in his heart will safeguard himself and his household from approaching even the possibility of transgression. As Chazal said: “‘Go away, go away,’ we tell the nazir. ‘Go around, go around—do not come near the vineyard!”
