The Greatness of the Amen of a Kattan

Maasei Emunim

A Story About Amen and Tefillah

The sefer Derech Moshe was printed in Amsterdam more than 300 years ago, in 5455. The sefer was authored by Rav Moshe Kahana, the Av Bais Din of Gibitsch, regarding whom it was stated in the Hazkaras Neshamos registry of the community that "we knew with certainty that he had revelations from Eliyahu."

In the sefer, the author dedicates an entire chapter to the importance of answering amen, and includes an awesome story about it. It should be noted that already in the title page of the book, the author notes that it contains "a story about answering amen."

The author divided the sefer into the days of the month and the "story about answering amen," is in the section that belongs to Day 11 of the month. The author goes into great detail when relating the story below, which took place with Rav Mordechai Yaffeh, author of the Levush. The author, who printed his sefer some 90 years after the passing of the Baal Halevush, notes that he heard the story from his wife’s grandfather Rav Avraham Varter of Lissa, who was a great-grandson of the Levush.

The Derech Moshe also adds about this story that "one who fears and is chareid l’dvar Hashem will learn this story once a month, to inform all the members of his household the great punishment for one who does not answer amen even to the brachah of his baby."

In later generations, gedolei Yisrael also included this story in their seforim. The Chida brings it in Shem Hagedolim (Ma’arechas Seforim 30 12), the Pele Yoetz cites it in his sefer Chessed L’Alafim (214-215, se’if 5), and it is also brought in Sefer Henhora Hashaleim (Ch. 16).

This story is also brought in sefer Halichos Shlomo – Tefillah (p. 373) based on the letter of Rav Shlomo Zalman Aeurbach, in which he wrote "so as to strengthen weak hands it is a mitzvah to publicize this story."

We bring the story in honor of the yahrtzeit of the Levush, which is marked this Monday, 3 Adar.

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Rav Mordechai Yaffeh, author of the Levush, was the Rav of a small town in Poland, but in time, he became famed for his greatness and brilliance, and the distinguished community of Posen sought to appoint him as Av Bais Din and Rosh Mesivta in their city.

The residents of Posen sent a delegation to Rav Mordechai requesting that he come to serve in their city. They also had a ksav rabbanus with them, as is accepted, so that that they could give it to the Rav if he acceded to their request. When the Rav heard the request he told the delegation that he would want to accept the position, but he could not come to their city right away as he had not yet mastered the halachos of ibur hachodesh.

Because there was no one in Poland from whom he could learn these halachos, Rav Mordecchai wanted to first travel to Venice, Italy, where the Sephardic sages who were experts in these halachos resided. After he would learn the halachos from them, he would come to serve as Rav in Posen.

Rav Mordechai traveled to Venice where he studied for three months under Chacham Rav Yitzchak Abuhav, until he became an expert in the halachos of ibur hachodesh.

One day, as Chacham Yitzchak Abuhav and his talmid Rav Mordechai were sitting and speaking pleasantly, the son of the Chacham, who was about five, stood up and loudly recited Borei Pri Ha’eitz on a fruit. The rest of the people in the house who heard the brachah answered amen, but Rav Mordechai did not, as he was engrossed in his thoughts and did not notice that the child had made a brachah. When Rav Yitzchak Abuhav saw this, he got very angry at Rav Mordechai, scolded him severely and even excommunicated him.

Rav Mordechai waited thirty days, as is the halachah for a talmid whose Rav has banished him, and then came to appease his rebbi. But Rav Yitzchak Abuhav refused to forgive him. Rav Mordechai pleaded for his life and said, "Please, Rabbeinu, tell me why is my sin so great that he does not want to forgive me?"

Rav Yitzchak Abuhav replied: "Know that I love you more than the love of a father to his son, but the moment you did not answer amen to the brachah of the child, you were sentenced to death by Shamayim."

Afterwards he added: "I forgive you on condition that you promise me that wherever you go and whichever community you will be with, you will announce in public the sin of one who hears a brachah and does not answer amen, and you will command your children and all your offspring to relate this story that I will tell you now."

And this is what Rav Yitzchak told Rav Mordechai:

Many years earlier, there was a large city in Spain that was populated by many Jews, including multitudes of talmidei chachamim. In this city lived a chassid and tzaddik who was also very wealthy and found great favor in the eyes of the king.

A number of times, the king wanted to expel the Jews from his land, but each time that he plotted to do this, the sage traveled to him and was able to nullify the decrees and prevent the banishment of the Jews.

One day, the king again got angry at the Jews and ordered them expelled from the country. The community members came to the his chassid’s house to ask him to go to the king and nullify the decree, as he had done in the past.

The chassid immediately set out, and soon reached the royal palace. The king welcomed him fondly, and therefore the chassid was sure that this time, once again, he’d be able to nullify the decree. As he was speaking with the king, a priest from a distant city entered the hall and began to bless the king. The priest’s blessing went on and on, and the chassid, realizing that the sun was setting, stood in a corner and began to daven Minchah.

When the priest finished blessing the king, he asked those present to answer amen to his blessing so that it should be fulfilled. Everyone in the room, with the exception of the Jewish sage, who was engrossed in his tefillah, answered amen to the priest’s blessing.

When the priest saw that the Jew had not answered amen to his blessing, he clasped his hands together and yelled, "Woe, because of the Jew who did not answer amen the blessing that I gave the king will not be fulfilled!"

The king heard this, got very angry, and immediately ordered the Jew killed.

With terrible torture and threats, the servants of the king took the Jew to be killed, and already that same day, the king ordered all the Jews expelled from his country.

That holy Yid had a friend who knew his greatness and his virtues. When he heard what had happened to the chassid in the palace, he was beside himself with distress.

"Why was such a terrible decree cast on this holy man who never sinned?" the friend asked himself over and over again. In his desire to understand why this had happened, the friend fasted, wept and pleaded that the reason be revealed to him from Above.

One day, when the friend was sitting alone in his room, the dead chassid revealed himself to him and said: "Although I was a big tzaddik in olam hazeh, once, my young son made a brachah Hamotzi on bread and I did not answer amen to his brachah, and because HaKadosh Baruch Hu is stricter with the tzaddikim like a hairsbreadth, it was decreed that I be punished in this harsh and bitter way."

After the chassid revealed to his friend the reason for the punishment, he warned that he should relate it further, and disseminate it to the public, and caution them about answering amen. Then he disappeared."

Chacham Yitzchak Abuhav concluded his story and said to Rav Mordechai: "Don’t be angry that I banished you. My intention was only for your good, that your sin should be atoned, and I forgive you, but on condition that you speak in public about the greatness of answering amen."