Parshas Korach: 5785

Imagine, the gadol hador reading personal letters, so this mother could stay connected with her child
“Hashem said to Aharon, “I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of Bnei Yisrael.” (Bamidbar 18:20)
We often think holy people are above and removed from This World and its inhabitants. However, the Chasam Sofer writes that Hashem’s promise to Aharon was, despite him being the Kohein Gadol — the only man allowed into the Kodesh Hakodoshim — he still had the ability to remain “in the midst of the Jewish people.”
Aharon pursued peace. When he was niftar, “The entire Beis Yisrael wept for him.” Everybody! We don’t even find this by Moshe Rabbeinu. (Rabbi Yissocher Frand)
“P
sst” I whispered to my husband. “Look! There’s Rav Ganz walking along, and nobody’s with him. Go ask him something!”
“What should I ask?” my husband stage-whispered back.
“Anything! Just grab this opportunity! Ask about Avi’s second name!
My son’s the only one in the family who’s named after two different people. I had since heard there were various opinions about this. There wasn’t much I could do about it now, but here was Rav Ganz… available to take away my guilt retroactively!
Kudos to my husband who puts up with my nature, and approached Rav Ganz to ask this “pikuach nefesh sh’eilah.” Rav Ganz listened earnestly, assured him Avi was fine, two names and all, then continued to shul as if it were perfectly reasonable to stop a gadol and ask this random question.
Perhaps in our times, we can relate this to Rav Moshe Feinstein ztz”l. Rav Moshe was not only a genius and world-class posek, but also someone with whom people felt they had a relationship. At his levayah, the whole spectrum of Judaism was represented, because everybody felt a personal connection with him.
There’s a well-known story that every few weeks a woman would come into MTJ and spend a few minutes in Rav Moshe’s office. Someone asked the woman what brought her so frequently to the Rav.
She answered that she’d escaped Russia, but her son was still there. He wrote his mother letters in Yiddish, but the woman was illiterate. Whenever she got a letter, she came to Rav Moshe so he could read it to her.
Can you imagine? The gadol hador reading aloud these personal letters, so this mother could stay connected with her child.
Living in Eretz Yisrael, we’re shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest talmidei chachamim in the world and have seen their humility firsthand.
Rav Brevda’s daughter lived near our Yerushalayim apartment. He often visited his daughter, and my husband would take our girls to meet Rav Brevda, who’d always give my young daughters brachos, and delight them by speaking to them in English.
Then there were the “chalakah tours” and Chol Hamoed visits; Rav Scheinberg , Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, and others each took the time to welcome us personally. (And we have pictures… not for sale!)
Every Friday, when Rav Moshe would say shiur, a woman would enter and call out, “Rebbi, what time is candlelighting tonight?” And Rav Moshe answered her each time, illustrating his patience and ability to be “in the midst of the people.”
Then there was the time we were in Bnei Brak for Shabbos and my husband decided to try his luck getting into Rav Chaim with an important sh’eilah. It was before Maariv, and Rav Chaim’s door was open. He was sitting and learning by the light of a kerosene lamp, with only his young grandson with him. My husband asked our question and Rav Chaim patiently answered, then went back to his learning. (I’m also still holding on to three responses penned by Rav Chaim in answer to sh’eilos we sent him. Not for sale either.)
I challenge you, no, I dare you, to walk up to President Trump and ask him why stop signs have eight sides. Just as important as Avi’s two names, no?
Then head over to Buckingham Palace and ask King Charles to say hello to your kids, because they love hearing the English accent.
For your final mission impossible, wander into the Knesset to take a selfie with… you know what? Scratch that one. It may be hazardous to your health.
But I’ve seen it. The higher our gedolim are, the more they’re able to reach down to the rest of us.
(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 949)
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