A complaint against the Bach for causing him to learn a few minutes less than usual. Therefore, he called him to a Din Torah, knowing that Bais Din would side with the Bach. Now that it had been ruled like this in a Bais Din on earth, that ruling was accepted in Shomayim, and there was no more complaint against the Bach.
We see from this story how much of an effect the actions of this world have in Olam Haba. The Peleh Yoetz (Erech Sanigoriah) writes that it is known that Hashem wants Jews to defend everyone in Klal Yisroel. Eliyahu Hanavi was punished for speaking badly and saying that the idol worshipers had abandoned Hashem. Yeshaya Hanavi was also punished for speaking badly about Jewish people. Even Moshe Rabenu was punished for saying that the people would not believe him. And Gidon was chosen to be the leader of the nation because he defended them.
The reason for this is because the words we say in this world have an impact Above. If we speak negatively, we create negative forces. If we speak positively, we create positive forces. Our words bear fruit.
Judging Favorably:
The Shlah writes similarly that when one judges his friend favorably it has a great effect in Shomayim. If someone defends other Jews, even if he has done many aveiros, the malachim will defend him in Shomayim and the damaging angels will not be able to harm him.
Do Not Mention One’s Sins While He is Suffering:
One must be especially careful only to say good things about a person who is going through a difficulty. One should definitely not be like the foolish people who say, “That person must be suffering because he did a lot of bad things.” These people think they know exactly why their fellow Jew is suffering and what aveiros he did to cause his pain. One should definitely not be like them because the Satan becomes more powerful in times of danger and speaking badly about people makes him even stronger and gives him the ability to cause much harm.
If one speaks good about his friend, however, he shuts the mouths of the prosecuting angels and stops harm from occurring.
Defending a Fellow Jew:
The pasuk in Yechezkel (1:14) states: “And the chayos would run and return.” The Noam Elimelech (Parshas Bamidbor) explains that when a malach has a job to do in this world, it runs to do it and immediately returns to its place so that it doesn’t get sunk into this world. He says that this also can be applied to Klal Yisroel. For many years, we have not had a Bais Hamikdosh. We have nowhere to run and hide to make sure that we don’t get sunk into the gashmius of this world.
Rav Itzikel of Pshevorsk zy”a said that this is a defense and advocacy for Klal Yisroel. If the chayos, the Heavenly angels, need to run away so as not to become affected by this world, how can we be punished for being affected by it?
This is the meaning of the piyyut that we recite: “V’yosher yalitzu ba’adeinu chayos aish.”
The fiery angels are an advocacy for us. If they have to run away from this world, how can we be expected not to be influenced badly?
Saving a Student from Taking a Bad Path:
The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh was once traveling a long distance by ship. Amongst the other passengers were several merchants who were traveling for business. When the ship was out at sea, a tremendous storm struck and it began to shake. One huge wave struck the ship and broke it in half. Everyone plunged into the ocean and urgently attempted to find something to grab onto.
The Ohr Hachaim managed to grab ahold of a beam from the ship that was floating in the water. For three full days, he held onto the beam as it was rocked back and forth by the powerful waves. Finally, he was swept to dry land. When he walked ashore, he saw that he was on an uninhabited piece of land. He was exhausted from his ordeal and looked for a place to rest and regain his strength before plotting his next course of action.
He hadn’t eaten in days and he was starving. He also could hear the roars of wild beasts searching for prey, which terrified him. He sat down on the beach and cried but, knowing he could not remain there, he walked into the forest in search of sustenance. He found some fruit hanging from a tree and ate it. It was now nighttime, so he climbed a tree to be safe from the wild animals and he stayed there until the morning.
When it got light out and the animals returned to their dens, he descended the tree and walked around until evening. That night, he again climbed a tree and stayed there for the night. This went on for a number of days. He couldn’t find anywhere safe to be, and he was very scared and perturbed.
He decided to climb the tallest tree he could find so that he could look out as far as possible to determine if he was near any habituated place. As he looked around from the top of the tall tree, he saw smoke rising from the distance. He realized that this meant that someone was living nearby.
He came down from the tree and walked in the direction of the smoke. After walking for hours, he saw a lone house in the distance. The house was palatial in size and beautiful in appearance. It looked like a castle. The Ohr Hachaim was overjoyed to have found it and he thanked Hashem for allowing him to find civilization.
As he approached the house, he did not see anyone around. The door was closed but unlocked. He went inside and saw that the house was in good order. It definitely looked like someone was living there. The pots and dishes were stored nicely. The table, chairs and beds were clean and set up properly.
Still and all, he couldn’t find anyone there. He went from room to room but no one was to be found.
The table was set and there was plenty of delicious-looking hot food waiting to be eaten. He was starving, as he had only eaten a few fruits since he had arrived on shore but he didn’t want to eat any of the food because he didn’t know if it was kosher and he also didn’t want to take anything without permission. He was worried that the owner of the house might find him eating his food and kill him.
A few hours passed. He was now so hungry that he began to think that perhaps the owner of the house wouldn’t care if he ate a little. He thought that Hashem certainly would have mercy on him and not allow him to be killed for eating some food when he was in danger of starving to death. He trusted in Hashem to help him and he ate some of the food that was clearly not treif. He ate enough to still his hunger. He was now very tired. He lay down on one of the beds and fell asleep.
This house was actually belonged to four armed highwaymen who made their living by robbing and murdering travelers. They used it as their hideaway, where they would store all the money and possessions they stole.
They had been out all day robbing and killing and they returned late at night with their plunder. When they got to the house, they were surprised to find the door open. They walked inside and saw that someone had eaten some of their food. They were outraged that someone dared to enter their lair and they searched for the intruder until they found the Ohr Hachaim fast asleep on one of the beds.
They wanted to rip him to pieces as he slept but their leader said, “Don’t do anything right now. We are all hungry. Let’s first eat and then we will deal with him.”
They sat down by the table and they ate and drank their fill. After they finished eating, one of them woke up the Ohr Hachaim and brought him to the main room. When he saw the armed robbers, he was petrified and his legs began to tremble. They asked him, “Why did you enter this house? Why did you eat our food and go to sleep in our bed like you own the place?”
The Ohr Hachaim was unable to utter a word. He stood before them like a mute. They immediately issued a death sentence, saying that they would tear him limb by limb and feed him to the dogs. When he heard this, the Ohr Hachaim fell to the floor and begged for his life. He told them everything that happened to him and how he ended up in their house but they didn’t believe a word he said.
They led him out of the house with their swords drawn, waiting for their leader to give the word to kill him. The head robber approached them and said, “No one will lay a hand on this man until I speak to him privately for a minute.”
The other robbers moved off to the side, leaving the Ohr Hachaim alone with their leader. The leader of the thieves then said to him, “Don’t you remember me?”
The Ohr Hachaim replied, “No. I don’t know who you are.” The head robber said, “Look closely at my face.” The Ohr Hachaim gazed at him but still could not place him. Finally, the robber said, “My name is such-and-such. I am your student. I studied under your guidance for a long time in your bais medrash. I was a young beardless man then and now I probably look different. That’s why you don’t recognize me.”
The Ohr Hachaim was happy to hear this but he asked, “How did you end up here? How did you fall so far?” The man said, “Rebbe, I will tell you everything. It’s not for nothing that our sages say that one who gets angry is akin to one who worships idols. I once got so angry at my parents that I began to beat them. By the time I returned to my senses, I realized that I had killed them. I saw what I had done and felt that there was no possible way for me to do teshuva. I had lost my share in Olam Haba. All hope was lost for me. I ran away and joined a group of thieves and eventually became their leader.
“When I saw you, I was reminded of who I used to be and I desired to do teshuva. Please teach me how to repent and fix my soul. I will do whatever you say as long as you can promise me that I will have a share in Olam Haba. If you can’t do that, I will remain a thief and murderer and I won’t even stop my friends for killing you.”
The Ohr Hachaim told him, “It will be very difficult for you to do teshuva. I don’t know if you can do it. However, if you obey everything I tell you to do, I promise that your portion in Olam Haba will be returned to you. This is what you must do:
“Firstly, you must leave this gang of thieves forever. You must return to a frum life with your entire heart and soul and commit to never engage in criminal activity again. In addition to this, you must fast three times a week, daven three times every day with a tzibur, and do every mitzvah that comes your way immediately. To put it simply, you must avoid bad and do good.
“After doing this for one year, you must go out and search for a python’s den. Look around until you find a mother snake that has born several babies. Take one of the newborn snakes and put it in a metal jar. Seal the jar, hang it on a chain, and hang the chain from your neck for seven weeks. Feed the snake three times every day. At the end of the seven weeks, let the now fully grown snake out of the jar. It will bite you and you will die. Your death will be your measure-for-measure atonement.
“If you do all this, I promise that you will be forgiven and you will have a share in Olam Haba.”
The head robber agreed to the terms, saying, “Hashem sent you here, to this desolate place, to help me do teshuva. You certainly didn’t do anything to deserve the suffering you endured. Rather, my sins led you here. It must be that in the merit of the Torah that I learned in my youth, He has given me this opportunity to save my soul.”
He then called over the other thieves and said, “Don’t kill him today. From speaking to him, I see that he is a simple man who didn’t mean any harm. He stumbled upon our house after being lost in the forest for a long time. It wasn’t his fault. Therefore, I think we should give him another day to live. We’ll decide tomorrow what to do with him.”
They took him back into the house and gave him a room for the night. In the middle of the night, the chief robber came into the Ohr Hachaim’s room and said, “Get up now and run out the door. I will escort you to the closest city and from there you’ll be able to make your way home.”
The former thief became a new man. He settled in a Jewish community and lived a frum life for a year. He then did as he had been instructed and seven weeks later, the python he had raised bit him and he died.
After his death, he appeared to the Ohr Hachaim in a dream and said, “I did everything you said and I have been given a place in Gan Eden. I now am sitting in peace under the wings of the Shechinah. Hashem will repay you for helping me do teshuva.”
The Kedushah of Tefillin:
When the Ohr Hachaim was gravely ill and it was clear that his death was imminent, his Rebbitzen was sitting next to his bed with tears rolling down her cheeks. He cried to him, “You know that you are leaving me bereft and penniless. How will I manage?”
He told her, “Don’t worry. After I die, a rich man will come from Constantinople and he will give you 300 golden liras in exchange for my tefillin. Sell them to him and you will be able to live off that money. Just tell him in my name that he must be very careful to maintain the sanctity of the tefillin and he may never utter even one mundane word while wearing them.”
These words comforted his wife. A few days later, Klal Yisroel mourned the petirah of the holy Ohr Hachaim. For 30 days, many eulogies were delivered for this great man. After the end of the Shloshim, a wealthy man from Constantinople came to the Rebbitzen and offered to pay 300 golden liras for his tefillin. Of course, she remembered what her husband had told her and she agreed to the deal. She also remembered to tell him that he must be very careful to maintain the sanctity of tefillin and to never speak mundane words while wearing them.
The purchaser kept his end of the deal. He wore the tefillin every day and made such to never speak while wearing them. He found that his tefillos were greatly uplifted when he wore them and became more exalted every day.
One day, the rich man was sitting the bais medrash, wrapped in his talis and tefillin, when one of his young workers approached him and started to discuss business matters. At first, he tried to ignore him but the boy would not let up. For one second, he was distracted from his lofty thoughts and he said something about the business. Immediately, he realized that he no longer felt as uplifted as he usually did when he wore the Ohr Hachaim’s tefillin.
The man got very scared when he realized that the spirit of holiness had left him. He thought that he may have somehow invalidated the tefillin, so he took them to a sofer to be checked.
And when the sofer opened the tefillin, he was amazed to see that the parchment was blank! The letter were no longer there!
This story was related by Rav Itzikel of Pshevorsk zy”a. He concluded by saying, “The moment the wealthy man was maseach da’as and spoke mundane words, the letters flew off the parchment and ascended to Shomayim.”
May the memory of the tzadik be a blessing for all of Klal Yisroel.
