When people asked the Skulener Rebbe zt'l what kabbalah tovah they should take on, he would answer, שמים מלכות עול קבלת, to accept the yoke of heaven, is the best kabbalah tovah one can accept on himself.
There was a bachur who wasn't learning Torah. The rosh yeshiva told him, "I know what you are thinking." The bachur was shocked. "Does the rosh yeshiva have ruach hakodesh?" he asked. "No," the rosh yeshiva replied, "I don't have ruach hakodesh. However, Chazal (Avos d'Reb Noson beginning of chapter 20) state, 'Whoever places on his heart words of Torah, this annuls thoughts of war, hunger, foolishness, thoughts from the yetzer hara, idle thoughts... and whoever doesn't think words of Torah, he has thoughts of war, hunger, foolishness....' And since you aren't learning, I know what types of thoughts are flying through your head."
Reb Chaim Aryeh Weinberger Shlita was a close student of the renowned mashgiach and tzaddik, Reb Dov Yaffe zt'l. Reb Chaim Aryeh tells that ten years ago, Reb Dov Yaffe invited him to his home for a Purim seudah. When the simchah at the meal reached a peak, Reb Dov Yaffe said to his student, "If you have something to ask, you can ask it now, because now it is an eis ratzon." Reb Chaim Aryeh said that he wanted to ask a question, and Reb Dov Yaffe encouraged him to do so. Reb Chaim Aryeh said, "I heard a story about the rav, and I want to know whether its true: I heard that at the beginning of the rav's married life, there was a dispute between the rav and his rebbetzin, and you had to go to Reb Aharon Cohen to work things out between you. The debate centered on caring for their little children in the middle of the night, when they wake up crying. The rav claimed that he should be the one to take care of the children, and that his wife should continue sleeping. He explained that she takes care of the children all day long, so it would be proper that he also takes part in caring for the children. His wife, on the other hand, claimed that he needed his sleep so that he could study and teach Torah. She argued that she should take care of the children at night.
It turned out that both of them would get up at night to care for the children, so they went to Reb Aharon Cohen to ask him what to do. Reb Aharon thought deeply into the matter and concluded that they should take turns. One night, the rebbetzin should take care of the children, and one night, Reb Dov Yaffe should. A wondrous thing happened because every time it was the rav's turn, the children didn't cry that night! They were silent the entire night. They only cried on the nights that the rebbetzin was to take care of them. Reb Chaim Aryeh said, "I heard that this went on for years. When it was your night, the children didn't cry.
Is this story true, or is it made up?" Reb Dov Yaffe replied, "It isn't that they didn't cry on my nights. They simply didn't wake up on those nights." The rebbetzin, from the next room, heard her husband's response and protested, "The children woke up those nights, as well. They simply didn't cry on the nights that you were to take care of them."
We learn from this story the rule that Chazal tell us: Whoever accepts on himself the yoke of Torah, Heaven helps him, and he is freed from the ארץ דרך עול, the obligations of this world. The mashgiach accepted on himself the yoke of studying and teaching Torah, and was therefore exempt from all other responsibilities. An example of accepting the yoke of Torah is to put away the telephone when you study Torah. You don't have to worry about missing an important call. Because when one accepts on himself the yoke of Torah, he is freed from all worries. All his needs are taken care of from Above.
Chazal (Shabbos 30b) say that Dovid asked Hashem when he would die, as it states (Tehillim 39:5) ק ִצִּי 'ה הוֹדִיע ֵנִי הִיא מַה יָמַי וּמ ִדַּת, "Hashem, let me know my end..." Hashem replied that this is something that isn't revealed to mankind. However, Hashem told him that he would be niftar on Shabbos. Every Shabbos, Dovid learned Torah the entire day, because he knew that the Torah would protect him from the malach hamaves, the angel of death.
On the day that it was destined for Dovid HaMelech to be niftar, the malach hamaves tried to take his neshamah, but was unsuccessful because Dovid was learning non-stop. Outside the house, there was an orchard with many trees. The malach hamaves shook the trees, making a loud sound. Dovid was afraid, "Perhaps this is a sound of war?" He went outside to investigate. He climbed up a stair and the stair collapsed. That was the moment Dovid stopped learning Torah for a moment, and the malach hamaves was able to take his soul.
Lessons from Dovid HaMelech
There are several lessons we can take from this story:
- Torah is our life; it protects us from all harm. It protects us from the malach hamaves and the yetzer hara (who is the same malach as the malach hamaves).
- Some ask, why did the malach hamaves have to bring Dovid outside his home to cause him to stop learning? He could have caused a chair to break in his beis medresh, or something similar, and that would have stopped his learning. But the answer is that when one is in a beis medresh, he is stronger than the yetzer hara. When one leaves the beis medresh, he is at risk. Dovid HaMelech continued learning when he left the beis medresh. The proof is that he only stopped learning when the stair broke, outside. However, since he was outside the beis medresh, he was at a greater risk, and that is where the malach hamaves caught up with him.
- The nature of people is that when they begin learning Torah, they suddenly recognize that they are hungry, or thirsty, or that they have to take care of something important. This occurred to Dovid HaMelech. He thought there was a war outside. Let us learn to be cautious from this form of yetzer hara. When it is time to learn, tell yourself that you don't need anything. You aren't thirsty or tired, there are no wars, there no conversation is necessary. You are prepared to study Torah, and that attitude will help you succeed immensely in your studies.
