The 17th of Sivan is the yahrtzeit of Reb Aharon of Karlin zt’l, the Beis Aharon. In honor of the yartzeit, we will share some stories about this great tzaddik, specifically focusing on his joy.
One of Beis Aharon's outstanding traits was simchah. The Rebbe of Kozmir (and other tzaddikim) called him the freilechen tzaddik because he was always happy. People thought he was a happy person by nature, but the Yesod HaAvodah of Slonim zy’a said that the Beis Aharon's happiness was a result of his hischazkus. (He trained himself to be happy. He worked on himself to always be satisfied.)
Once, the Beis Aharon rebuked his son for not being happy. His son asked, "Why do you rebuke me specifically for this? I have other faults, and you never rebuke me over those matters!" His father, the Beis Aharon, replied, "You have yiras Shamayim, and on your own, I know that you will improve in the areas that need improvement. However, you think that being sad isn’t so severe... That's why I must teach you the importance of always being happy."
An individual with a sad disposition came to join the Stoliner chasidus. The Beis Aharon told him the following mashal: A family was traveling to a chasunah when they met a poor man walking along the side of the road. The man asked them if he could ride along with them. The head of the family told him, "We are traveling to a chasunah; the kallah is in the wagon, and we are all very happy. If you can be happy with us, you can join us. But if you're sad, we don't want you on the wagon. You will ruin the joyous atmosphere." The Beis Aharon turned to the chasid and said, "We have a happy chasidus. You can join us if you want, but only if you will be happy together with us."
The Beis Aharon zy"a once stood before the amud to daven and said to himself: "I am a grandson [of tzaddikim], but I am a simple person. What connection do I have with my holy grandfathers?" He thought about this for a few moments and then said: "But I am a grandson, so I will daven liluy nishmas my grandfather," and then the Beis Aharon began the tefillah.
The Beis Aharon's grandson, Rebbe Avraham Elimelech of Karlin zy"a said: This is a lesson in serving Hashem. On the one hand, one should feel broken and humble because of his sins and imperfections, but on the other hand, one should strengthen himself and say: "I am a ben Melech [a child of Hashem], and therefore I have tremendous value."
The Gemara (Megillah 28.) says בעי שמעתתא צילותא. Literally, this means, "To learn Torah, one needs a clear mind." צילותא can also mean tefillah. The Beis Aharon taught בעי שמעתתא צילותא, to succeed in Torah, one needs to daven properly, and to succeed in tefillah, one needs to learn well. One influences the other.
Chasidim from Poland came to the Beis Aharon for a yom tov. When they were ready to leave, the Beis Aharon told them, "Yidden in Poland love to learn Torah, and so do we. The difference is that we explain the Gemara (Megillah) צילותא בעי שמעתתא, to mean that for success in Torah, one needs to daven well. Also, to daven well, one needs to learn Torah."
The Sadigura Rebbe zt'l was a son-in-law of the Beis Aharon. The Sadigura chasidim had a custom to gather and discuss chasidus and avodas Hashem. To raise money for the refreshments of their gatherings, the Sadigura Rebbe would give them a coin that he blessed, to be a segulah for protection and success, and the chassidim would auction off the coin to the highest bidder.
Once, there were wealthy people among the bidders, and the coin sold for a large sum. The chassidim debated what to do with the money. Should it all be used for their chassidic gatherings, or should they designate some of the money for other needs, since it was a lot? They asked their Rebbe's father-in-law, the Beis Aharon zt'l. He replied, "There is nothing more special than when Yidden gather in friendship to speak words of Torah and emunah. So I don’t think you should use the money for any other cause."
Once, at a tisch, the Beis Aharon sent a chassid outdoors to report back what he saw. The chassid returned and said, "I saw two drunkards walking together. One of them said to the other one: 'Let's hold on to each other so that we won’t fall.'" The Beis Aharon said, “Did you hear what he said? When Yidden hold on and support one another, they won’t fall from their spiritual levels.”
Chazal say ממנו גדול יצרו מחברו הגדול כל, "Whoever is greater, has a greater yetzer hara." The Beis Aharon read it to mean, כל הגדול, whoever is great in Torah and avodas Hashem, מחברו, it is because he has friends. גדול יצרו, but if one has a great yetzer hara, ממנו, it is because he is alone.
The Beis Aharon taught his chassidim to daven loudly, passionately, and slowly. One Shabbos, a visiting Rav heard the Beis Aharon begin Baruch She'amar, but didn’t hear him finish it. The Rav assumed that the custom in this beis medresh was that the chazan didn’t end each piece, so the Rav continued to daven on his own. When he reached Yishtabach, he heard the Rebbe shout, in the renowned Stoliner tune, חי יחיד העולמים... So slow and passionate were their tefillos.
When the Beis Aharon was niftar, his son-in-law, the Sadigura Rebbe, said, "The העולמים חי יחיד, the one Hashem, remains the same, but the way my father-in-law said those words won't be heard again until Moshiach comes."
Zechuso yegen aleinu, may his merit be a protection for us, amen.
