One day, an elderly Yid turned to Rav Benzion Felman to clarify for him something strange he kept witnessing. This man lived in Tel Aviv, across from the great shul, and he noticed that Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, zt”l, would come and visit the Arba Minim shuk, between Yom Kippur and Sukkos. This observer noted how the Rav would repeat this perusal year after year, and yet the Rav never bought anything.
This strange conduct piqued this Yid’s interest. “The Ponovezher Rav is a busy man, who utilizes every free moment for learning Torah and running his many institutions. Why would he come every day to the shuk and spend many long hours without purchasing even a single aravah? Maybe you, Rav Benzion, as one of the Rav’s close students, can explain what the Rav is looking for.”
The question remained on Rav Benzion’s mind until Rav Kanaheman was niftar. At the levaya, one of the Rav’s primary talmidim, Rav Pinchas Shreiber, one of the “yaldei Teheran,” (an orphan from Iran) who the Rav had raised as one of his own, delivered a hesped. During the hesped, Rav Pinchas mentioned the following:
“When I found out that the Rav traveled to the Tel Aviv shuk, I asked him, ‘Rebbi, your time is precious. Why do you travel all that distance when mehudar minim are delivered directly to your door?’”
The Rav answered him with a story from the Gemara (Shabbos 33b) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s exit from the cave that he and his son, Rabbi Elazar, hid from the Romans for thirteen years. When Rav Elazar saw people forfeiting eternal life for the temporal life in this world, everything he set his eyes on was incinerated. Rabbi Shimon set his eyes on the same thing and brought it back to its previous state.
On Erev Shabbos, they saw an elderly Yid holding in his arms two bundles of hadasim to honor Shabbos — one for Zachor (the requirement to remember Shabbos), and the other for Shamor (the requirement to safeguard Shabbos). When Rabbi Shimon saw this, he said to Rav Elazar, “See how precious mitzvos are to the Yidden!” Witnessing that, calmed down Rav Elazar’s anger, and he no longer destroyed the world with his eyes.
Nowhere in the Shulchan Aruch will you find a halachah that teaches one to buy bundles of hadasim to honor Shabbos, and still, that simple Yid loved and honored Shabbos so much that he procured for himself two fragrant bundles — one for Zachor and one for Shamor.
“In that story,” explained the Rav Yosef Shlomo to Rav Pinchas, “the elderly Yid revealed to Rav Elazar that Yidden don’t just ‘observe’ Torah and mitzvos, they’re happy about them and love them! Yidden are happy about Shabbos, and they love Shabbos. Yidden are happy about Hashem, and they love Hashem. The love of Hashem burns in their heart like a burning flame. When Rav Elazar saw the extent of their happiness and love of mitzvos, he dropped his claims against them and ceased destroying everything he encountered on his path.”
Continued the Rav, “As a result of the War, I lost my wife and children; I lost the community I led and the yeshiva I founded. Afterward, I thought that the Yidden went lost. But behold, I see after the war that the Yidden of Tel Aviv flock to the shuk and spend many long hours seeking out mehudar esrogim with no bletelach and lulavim sealed up to the top. After all the physical and emotional suffering they endured in the Shoah, they still are prepared to spend lots of money and effort to merit mehudar arba minim, they’re defiantly eternal.
“That’s why I travel every year to the Arba Minim shuk. So while it’s true that mehudardike arba minim are brought to my doorstep, nonetheless, once a year, I wear out my soles to see Am Yisrael in its beauty and splendor. Once a year, I travel to Allenby Street to see how, even after that Churban, the Yidden are happy with mitzvos and love their Father in Heaven. That joyous sight enlivens me, and it invigorates me throughout the winter.”
