Yomim Tovim
This week's parashah discusses Shabbos, rosh chodesh, and the yomim tovim.
Regarding the greatness of Shabbos, Rebbe Shlomke Zvhiller zt’l said, "An hour of avodas Hashem on Shabbos is like five hundred weekday hours."
The Ben Ish Chai is more generous. He says an hour on Shabbos is like a thousand weekday hours.
The Ahavas Shalom zt’l says that an hour of avodas Hashem on Rosh Chodesh causes the entire month to be holy like Rosh Chodesh. As the saying goes, "The body follows the head."
Chazal say, "Whoever is greater has a greater yetzer hara." Reb Yechezkel Levenstein zt’l taught that this also applies to times. On the more important days of the year – such as Shabbos and yom tov – there is a greater yetzer hara, which is why some people find it hard to serve Hashem on those days. But if we try, we can accomplish so much during those days.
The Dubno Magid's Parable: The Decisive Battle
11. The Dubno Magid zt'l told the following story:
A large border city passed hands several times between its two neighboring countries, both countries claiming the city as theirs.
After many years of war and bloodshed, both governments decided that the dispute had to be settled once and for all. They decided to conduct one final battle; the winner would control the city forever.
They also decided that large armies won't fight the war this time as in the past. One warrior from each country will face off at the battlefield this time. The mighty warriors will wrestle in a field near a cliff, and the one who throws his opponent off the cliff wins.
The day of the great battle arrived. The kings of both countries and many spectators came to witness this decisive battle.
At the start, one of the warriors was far more successful than the other. It seemed that he would win. The countrymen of the winning team cheered their wrestler on as the warrior dragged his opponent towards the cliff.
Suddenly, when they were mere steps away from the cliff, the warrior of the other country jumped up from the dust, overpowered his opponent, and threw him over the cliff.
At the victory celebration, the king told the mighty wrestler, "We were so worried. We were certain you would lose. How did you end up winning?"
"I purposely allowed my opponent to drag me all the way to the cliff because I wanted to tire him. By the time he dragged me to the cliff, he was exhausted, and I was strong – it was easy to win the battle."
This story reminds us that we must be strong and fight the most important battles. We shouldn't arrive at Shabbos and yom tov exhausted. Those are moments of critical and decisive battles.
Some tzaddikim encouraged sleeping on erev Shabbos so we could have the strength to serve Hashem on Shabbos. In Stolin, there is a saying, "Six days we rest up, and on Shabbos we work." Avodas Hashem is precious on holy days, and fortunate are those who utilize these special moments.
The Chazon Ish zt'l said that if a goy knew the joy of studying Torah early in the morning of Shabbos, he would convert just to experience this joy.
There is so much we can gain on Shabbos and yom tov, and we should strive to acquire as much as possible.
Yeshuos from Being Joyous on Shabbos
It states in sefer Masuk m'Dvash (from Reb Yitzchak Parchi zt'l 6), "We saw, with our own eyes, that those who had a problem when Shabbos arrived, but took their minds off their tzarah and didn't let their worries enter their heart and rejoiced with Shabbos when Shabbos ended, the problem was gone. Everything turned to joy. They were saved from their tzaros with wonderful miracles."
Reb Yaakov Yosef Herman zt'l was from the tzaddikim who lived in America about one hundred years ago. He was an example to all that it was possible to be an ehrlicher Yid, even in America.
One of the mitzvos that he excelled in was hachnasas orchim. Every Shabbos, many guests sat around his table.
Once, his daughter took ill, and Reb Yaakov Yosef and his Rebbetzin stayed with her in the hospital around the clock. As Shabbos approached, they decided to go home to perform their weekly mitzvah of hachnasas orchim.
There was another Herman in the hospital – unrelated to them – and that Herman was niftar on Shabbos. According to American law, the hospital had to notify the next of kin as quickly as possible, so the hospital sent a messenger to the Herman home to tell them the unfortunate news. But accidentally, they confused the two Herman families, and the messenger was sent to the house of Reb Yaakov Yosef Herman.
When the messenger arrived at the door with a letter, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Herman...
