Anyone who reads the first story in this newsletter is bound to be moved. Everyone will find something in this story that speaks to him. Some will be moved by the magnitude of hurting another Yid, others will be awed by the tremendous value of a lonely Yid.
I want to share with you the point that really hit me when I heard the story:
A person lives in this world and thinks, Who am I? What am I worth? There are gedolei Torah whose Torah made a huge impact, their tefillos worked great wonders, their mitzvos caused exalted yichudim in the Upper Worlds; but I am nothing.
This story shows us: Look what the recital of one Yizkor of a Yid in this world can do. The deceased man had merits of his own. He was a person who had undergone hellish suffering in this world, a Yid who gave all his money for Torah learning, suffered shame and yissurim, and served his Creator alone. He was a Yid who certainly has long since been sitting with the righteous in Gan Eden, but this Yid will not forgo the Yizkor that is said for him in this world.
A Yid living here in this world has tremendous, incredible power – every single Yid. No Yid is second-rate; every Yid is a child of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and every Yid has power.
The Beis Aharon of Karlin once said, “The reason a Yid doesn’t excel in his avodas Hashem is that he doesn’t sufficiently value the things he does.”
Many people do a self-reckoning and wonder: If I am learning and davening, why am I not becoming elevated? The Beis Aharon reveals the “secret.” Do you want to be elevated? Believe in yourself! Believe in the tools that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave you, and mostly, believe in every single mitzvah that you do. Every mitzvah and every good deed is tremendous, and when you value this, you will become elevated.
Reb Shlomo Karliner said, “The greatest yetzer hara is when a person forgets that he is the son of the King.” On the positive side, it is certainly true that the greatest thing is for a person to recognize his status as the son of the King of all kings.
We have received tremendous powers to shake up all the worlds. The power of Torah, the power of emunah, the power of tefillah, the power of a mitzvah. When we know this, our lives as Yidden become full of significance.
Gut Shabbat
Pinchas Shefer
