One of the prominent talmidei chachamim of the previous generation, a precious and esteemed Jew, was Rav Dovsha Shovaks zt”l, who served for many years as the head of the Sfas Emes Yeshivah. He built his household with remarkable faithfulness and dedication and was privileged to raise blessed and upright generations, a seed blessed by Hashem.
As a master of chinuch, he deeply understood the hearts of his sons and daughters and always strove to convey love and affection with closeness of heart. Joy was a constant presence in his home, and the good children felt the pleasant warmth of the household‘s atmosphere and the simchah shel mitzvah their devoted parents displayed in their love for their children.
The Joy of Yisrael in Their Sons and Daughters
In his time, the phonograph was introduced, accompanied by kosher and refined music records performed by the finest singers in avodas Hashem. Many homes began to resonate with the sounds of pleasant and uplifting songs of phonographs (later replaced by cassette players, tapes, and so on).
This was a revolutionary novelty at the time, allowing even simple households to enjoy good music with orchestral accompaniment. Rav Dovsha‘s children, accustomed to a home filled with joy and holy vitality, wished to have a phonograph like many of their friends. They asked their righteous father to buy the device and some of the latest albums of the finest chassidic singers.
However, Rav Dovsha was not entirely comfortable with the idea. He worried that this might also introduce a hint of frivolity, chas veshalom. After all, there is a vast difference between joy and frivolity (holelus), as distant as east from west. He also feared there might be halachic concerns regarding the prohibition of zemer (song), derived from the pasuk (Hoshea 9:1), Do not rejoice, Yisrael, with exultation like the nations, which the prominent poskim have already elaborated upon.
Rav Dovsha deliberated, hesitating and fearing, as is the way of the God-fearing and pure-hearted who follow the teaching (Orlah 3:9), “New things (chadash) are prohibited by Torah law everywhere.” Who knows where such a novelty could lead? Yet, on the other hand, he sincerely wished to bring joy to his home so that his children would not feel different from their peers in the cheder.
Rav Dovsha told his children: “Let us wait a little and see after two weeks.”
Two weeks later, the children repeated their request. At that point, their father surprised them with an astonishing response: “Believe me, my dear children, my hope and faith were firm and unwavering that within two weeks, Mashiach would surely come, and we would no longer need all these devices, as the joy of Yisrael will be complete with the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. And from a halachic perspective also, the prohibition would be void, as it was only instituted because of the Churban. That is why I told you to wait two weeks.
“But I never imagined it possible that after two weeks, we would still be standing under the same prohibition amid this difficult exile, with Mashiach not yet here.”
This teaches us the character of Yerushalayim‘s pious and upright people. Although their homes were filled with the joy of their sons and daughters, they never abandoned their hope for redemption and participation in the Shechinah‘s sorrow throughout their lives.
