By Aharon Spetner
The Eisentein family finished their delicious seudah hamafsekes. Totty put on his kittel and tallis, and then gave each of the kinderlach a heartfelt brocha before leaving the house with Moishy to go to shul for Kol Nidrei.
“I’m so excited for Yom Kippur,” Moishy said as they walked down the quiet streets of Yerushalayim holding their machzorim. “The niggunim for the Yomim Nora’im davening are so beautiful.”
“I agree,” Totty replied. “But even more beautiful are the words in the tefillos, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Oh yes, of course...” Moishy stammered sheepishly. “I guess I should pay more attention to the words themselves.”
Totty smiled. “Why don’t we talk about one of the things that we will say tonight right after Kol Nidrei? “Hashem will forgive the entire people of the Bnei Yisroel”.
Many years ago (in 1998), I happened to be in America on Yom Kippur and I had the zechus to daven in Rav Avigdor Miller’s shul. After Kol Nidrei, Rav Miller spoke about these words. He said that the reason Hashem forgives us for our aveiros is because we are part of Klal Yisroel.
We are part of all of the other Yidden who learn Torah and keep the Mitzvos. And because we identify with them and love them, Hashem says “Oh, you are part of My people? Then of course I want to accept your apologies and forgive you.” Hashem “forgives the entire people” who are connected to “the entire people”.
“That makes me so happy to live here in Yerushalayim with thousands and thousands of other Yidden,” Moishy said. “We live in a city full of Hashem’s people. I hope that itself will be a zechus for us to get a kapporah this Yom Kippur.”
“I hope so too,” said Totty.
As they approached the shul, they noticed a man standing outside with several large boxes.
Illustrated by Miri Weinreb
“Totty, that looks like Tzadok ‘HaTzadik’!” Moishy said. “I thought he was still in jail.”
“Perhaps they let him out for Yom Kippur so he could daven in a normal shul,” Totty said.
Seeing them approach, Tzadok waved and called out to them.
“Gut Yom Tov!” he said. “Are you ready for Yom Kippur? Can I offer you some segulot to help you with your fast?”
“Segulot to help me?” Totty asked. “We just had a delicious and filling meal - do you know a better segulah than that?”
“Of course I do!” Tzadok said incredulously. “Look, here I have red strings - if Hashem forgives you they will turn white! And I have wheat stalks - that’s from the shivat haminim, you know. You put some of those into your hat and you will be full as if you ate bread all Yom Kippur long! And look! I have little jars of the air of Eretz Yisroel - that’s the holiest air in the whole world!”
“But we’re in Eretz Yisroel right now,” Totty said. “All of the air here is the air of Eretz Yisroel.”
“Yes, but mine is in a jar,” insisted Tzadok.
“Thank you, but no thank you,” Totty said politely as he and Moishy walked past Tzadok and into the shul.
“Totty,” Moishy whispered as they found their seats. “How could they let Tzadok stand out there like that? He’s annoying everyone with his phony segulos. Why can’t someone tell him to go away?”
“Moishele,” Totty said gently. “Don’t you remember what we were just talking about? We ask Hashem to be moichel us because we are a part of His people and we love all of His people who keep the Torah. Tzadok may be a bit confused, but he is Shomer Shabbos and wants to serve Hashem just as much as we do. We may feel sorry for him, but we must love him the same way we love every other Yid.”
Moishy sat quietly thinking about this. Then he quickly jumped up, grabbing the little jar of besomim that they had brought with them.
“Where are you going?” Totty asked.
“I’ll be right back,” Moishy said, running outside to where Tzadok was standing.
“Here Tzadok,” Moishy said, tipping some besomim into Tzadok’s hand.
“What is this?” asked Tzadok.
“It’s besomim,” Moishy said. “It smells delicious, and if you find the fast getting too hard, you just give it a whiff and it will make it easier to fast.”
“A new segulah???” Tzadok exclaimed joyously.
“I don’t think it’s a segulah,” Moishy said. “It just smells good and helps take your mind off of the hunger.”
“Sounds like a segulah to me!” Tzadok said with a huge smile. “Thank you so much! Gemar Chasimah Tovah!
Reprinted from the 5785 Yom Kippur email of Toras Avigdor Junior, based on the Torah teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l.
