28. A granddaughter of Reb Hillel Kalimaya zt'l survived the Holocaust. She said that on Tisha b’Av, in Auschwitz, the Nazis forced them to sit on sharp stones and to listen to a musical concert. They did this to break their spirit, robbing them of the opportunity to mourn on Tisha b'Av. This woman was upset by the chilul Hashem. She prayed, "Hashem, please answer my tefillah, not in my honor nor the honor of Your nation. Answer me for Your honor, which the goyim are desecrating. I pray that it should begin to rain and pour." The skies were clear that day, but shortly after her tefillah, dark clouds rolled in, and it began to pour. The musicians ran for cover, and everybody returned to their barracks. She said that this episode gave her much chizuk. She saw that Hashem listened to her tefillos even in Auschwitz.
29. Reb Dovid Friedlander zt'l (brother of the Tal Chaim of Liska zt'l) was a talmid of the Maharam Shik, a talmid chacham, and an askan during the difficult time when the Hungarian kehillos separated. From time to time, Reb Dovid would visit the Kaiser, Franz Yosef, and he had an influence on him. Once, the Kaiser said to Reb Dovid, "I concluded that the Jews aren’t loyal to my kingdom. I work hard to make life comfortable for the Jewish people who live here, but at every prayer, you request to return to Yerushalayim. This is a sign of disloyalty. Isn't it good for you to be here, in my kingdom?"
Reb Dovid understood that the maskilim probably spoke with the Kaiser, trying to put them in a bad light. He thought to himself how to respond, in a way that would appease the Kaiser. Hashem helped him, and he came up with the following idea. He said to the Kaiser, "I will explain it to you with a parable: There was a great king who needed a large sum of money, so he borrowed money from another king, and he gave the king one of his crowns as collateral. Some time passed, and the king wanted to know what was happening with his crown. He went to visit the king who lent him the money, and he saw that his crown was being kept between the wheels of his chariot. The king was distraught that his crown was being treated in this disrespectful manner. It was a disgrace to him, and a disgrace to his kingdom. So he quickly scraped together the money needed to pay up the loan. He got his crown back, and now he had to find another king who was willing to lend him money. He found such a king, and he gave him his crown as collateral. He hoped that this second king would have more respect for the crown.
Some time passed, and he went to the king so he could see what he was doing with his crown. He was glad when he saw that the crown was kept together with other treasures of this king, and he heard that this king enjoyed looking at its beauty. The king was happy that his crown was being treated correctly. With all his soul, he wanted to pay up the debt and get his crown back, but at least he knew that the crown was in an honorable place.
Reb Dovid said to the Kaiser, "My master and king, Hashem's crown is the Jewish nation. Due to our sins, Hashem had to send us to galus, but Hashem wants that also in galus, the crown should be respected. He looks down from heaven to see who is honoring Hashem's crown, and that is the best place for his crown to be, until the crown is redeemed. "Hashem brought us to your kingdom because you are a kind king. You deal kindly with Hashem's people, and Hashem is happy for every day that we are in your hands. Obviously, we must pray that Hashem return us to Yerushalayim, because the primary place for the King's crown is in the King's palace, in Yerushalayim. But as long as we are in galus, your country is the best place for us to be in because you honor us – the King's crown."
The Kaiser cried emotionally when he heard this. We are Hashem's crown, and Hashem's crown needs to be treated with the proper respect. Otherwise, Hashem will have immense tzaar. Therefore, we must pray, בשבי עוזך מתי עד ,בגוים כבודנו דל הביטה ל-א, "Hashem, we are Your crown. See how the goyim are mocking us. Come and see what they are doing to Your crown, and save us, speedily, in our days."
