Pearls of Tefillah in the Parashah
The Russian night had long gotten used to the frost and the dull hum of cold that whistled through the barracks. The soldiers in the military camp were exhausted, and they curled up in the thin blankets that had been provided to them as part of a meager package of basic supplies - whose goal was to speed up the adjustment of the soldiers to the combat conditions in the field.
Soon, the first rays of dawn would break, casting thin beams of light on the roofs of the huts, a sign that a new day of training had arrived. There was absolute silence in the whole camp, save for the chilling sound of the guards’ boots rhythmically marching, as their eyes scanned the horizon and their ears were on alert for any unusual sound.
In the next hour, the morning roll call would take place, when the soldiers would have to display absolute discipline to the military hierarchy. From one of the huts, sounds could be heard slicing through the deep silence. Reb Yosef Kaddish Krishevsky had gotten up early, into the chill, and stretched his freezing bones. His face registered excitement as he made his final preparations for davening, to stand in front of the Leader of the world Who is “yotzer ohr uborei choshech,” even in an isolated barracks.
Reb Yosef, a low ranking but very determined private, enveloped himself in his tallis and wrapped his tefillin around his arm. Soon, he was deeply engrossed in his warm tefillah that cast a halo on the entire hut, and with a special tune, he whispered the words of the pesukim slowly and carefully. From the side, it appeared to his roommates that he had nothing in his life but this moment of being enveloped in tefillah.
The scene continued for a long time, as Reb Yosef basked in the confines of the heichal hatefillah. He did not notice the morning rising and growing brighter, and seemed oblivious to the impending roll call. It would be heralded with the guards trumpeting their golden trumpets to wake the troops for a new day of grueling training.
The brigade’s soldiers awoke to the sound of the Russian anthem, and stretched their stiff muscles. They didn’t have any spare minutes to wet their lips with a hot drink, or to even enjoy the fresh new day. They had a very short time to get ready and be standing for roll call. They hurried to tie up their boots and straighten their berets, and were no longer very moved by the scene of Reb Yosef closing his eyes fervently and swaying in a corner.
‘Dobroye utro!’ (good morning), the guard growled, and motioned with his hand to for the high ranking guest to enter. ‘Zdravstvuyte,’ (hello) the senior officer with many medals on his chest replied. He had arrived the night before at the barracks by surprise, and already he was striding arrogantly among the rows of soldiers, studying each and every one carefully.
His satisfaction at the absolute discipline of the rows of troops was soon replaced by a furious expression when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Reb Yosef Krishevsky engrossed in his tefillah. The angry officer waved at the errant private and motioned for him to desist, but Reb Yosef was concentrating on his davening and did not even notice anything else. The patience of the guest was very short, and he demanded that the soldier stand at attention and salute, while Reb Yosef calmly stepped back three steps and finished the Amidah. The officer was fuming now, and was not ready to let the soldier’s impudence go unpunished. With a sharp move, he grabbed Reb Yosef’s tefillin and threw them wildly to the ground.
Reb Yosef bent down to his precious tefillin and kissed them lovingly, and without hesitating, he raised his hand and slapped the arrogant officer on the face, in objection to the violation of the tefillin.
The stunned officer was breathing heavily with fury, and he ordered his soldiers to handcuff the private and throw him into prison. As Reb Yosef was dragged to the cell, the officer hollered at him, ‘You’ve debased the Russian Army, you’re going to be sentenced to death!” But even hearing this words did nothing to alter Reb Yosef’s tranquil gaze; he didn’t appear to be the least bit worried.
Reb Yosef sat in a dark, moldy cell, his eyes glowing. There was no sun penetrating this dungeon, but the words of tefillah filled him with vitality. His firm emunah did not give any way to despair. Even when he was offered the right to a military defender, he firmly rejected it, and preferred to cast his lot on Hashem, and no other.
When Reb Yosef’s trial began, everyone in the courtroom, from the dignitaries to the visitors in the gallery laughed heartily at the defendant, who had not utilized his right to defense, which every citizen deserved. When the military prosecutor finished listing the crimes of the Jewish private, the panel of judges expressed their horror at this criminal offense against the Russian Tsar. Especially at the fact that it had taken place during morning roll call, in front of hundreds of soldiers. An offense to the Russian Tsar was unforgivable.
The stamp that would seal his death sentence had already been dipped into the inkpad. A moment before the verdict was issued, the defendant was given a chance to say a few words in his defense. Reb Yosef stood up calmly, as if a death sentence was not hovering over his head. With clarity and confidence, he said, “When I was drafted to the Russian army, I was asked to take an oath of allegiance on the object that is most dear to me. I pondered what that thing is, and then selected my tefilln. With the tefillin in my hand, I pledged an oath of allegiance to the regime until my death. Do you think I can violate my word?! Our Creator has commanded us to honor every word that comes out of our mouths, and a false oath is one of the most serious transgressions in our book of laws. From the moment I swore with the tefillin, then do not think for a moment that I will not accord honor to the Tsar.”
A strange buzz rippled through the crowd. Reb Yosef continued: “When the officer threw this holy object upon which I had taken the oath of allegiance, he was acting with terrible denigration toward the military hierarchy, and toward the ceremony of the soldiers’ swearing in. Thus, he was challenging the Russian Tsar. And because of my allegiance to the Tsar, and my absolute submission to his entire hierarchy, I protested for the honor of the army and I smacked the officer in my dismay. I do not forgive this criminal act.”
Recess! The judge banged with his gavel and an usher removed everyone from the hall. After a stormy consultation among the judges, everyone was called back, and the presiding judge read out the protocol of accusations from the officer. “The court was convinced by the solid claims of the private and has acquitted him of all guilt. The officer will be demoted one rank and will pay for court expenses.”
“Adjourned!” the usher announced to the confused crowd, and Reb Yosef calmly walked out of the courtroom, as if he’d foreseen the verdict. Or more accurately, he’d foreseen the power of tefillah to the Melech Hamishpat.
Yosef Kaddisha Ch. 15
Know Before Whom You Are Standing
