During World War Two, when the Nazis came to France, there was a yeshiva in Leon, France. One week, a student of the Novardok yeshiva gave a drashah before kabbalas Shabbos. He spoke about the minhag of turning from Mizrach to face Maariv while saying the last stanza of lecha dodi and then bowing to the right and the left. He explained that this custom is to remind us that one doesn't know where his salvation will come from. It might come from the east, it might come from the west, it could come from the right, it could come from the left.
No one knew at the time, but as he spoke in the yeshiva, there was a rasha outside, holding a grenade in his hand. He entered the beis medresh to throw it, just as the people of the yeshiva turned around for the last phrase of Lecha Dodi. The rasha thought that they had turned around to look at him. He thought he would catch them by surprise but then realized that maybe they were prepared for his attack and knew his plan. He became paralyzed from fear. The grenade exploded in his hands, killing him.
We tell this story to remind us that keeping Torah and mitzvos is our protection. We protect ourselves with our connection to Hashem.
Reb Dovid Povarsky zt'l told the following story:
The Novardok yeshiva operated in Soviet Russia. Obviously, in that era, they had to conceal the existence of the yeshiva from the government. If they were caught, the government would declare them to be anti-revolutionary, the yeshiva would be closed, and the students imprisoned, r'l.
Once, officials of the Russian government were planning a meeting in a building across the street from the yeshiva. The leaders of the yeshiva wondered whether they should close the yeshiva for that day, as it states (Tehillim 119:126) ָת ּוֹרָתֶך הֵפ ֵרוּ 'לה לַעֲש ׂוֹת עֵת, sometimes one should stop learning (ָת ּוֹרָתֶך הֵפ ֵרוּ), so the yeshiva can go on afterwards. They sent their question to the Alter of Novardok zt'l and he responded that they shouldn't close the yeshiva – not even for a day. On the contrary, they should learn more, and with greater hasmadah. The Alter assured them that this merit will protect them.
On the day of the government meeting, two soldiers arrived early to set up the meeting place. As they came near the yeshiva, they heard a loud kol Torah and tried to see what was going on. Two bachurim of the yeshiva looked out the window and saw the soldiers approaching. Frightened, they ran upstairs to the dormitory and hid under blankets.
The soldiers entered the yeshiva and saw everyone learning with hislahavus. They had never seen anything like this before. Some students were shouting towards their chavrusos, others were making unusual hand and body motions, as is the way of those immersed in Torah study. The soldiers were convinced they had entered a mental asylum. According to the law, they couldn't do anything to such an institution, so they left.
Once again, we learn that the greatest protection is to be attached to Torah.
