Bamidbar 5783: Understanding The Ways of Hashem

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The Concept of Gilgul in a Pasuk

וידבר ה’ אל משה במדבר סיני באהל מועד באחד לחדש השני בשנה השנית לצאתם מארץ מצרים לאמר. שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל למשפחתם לבית אבותם במספר שמות כל זכר לגלגלתם

“On the first day of the second month, in the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying: take a census of B’nei Yisroel according to their ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.” (Bamidbar 1:2)

In this week’s parshah it says כל זכר לגלגלתם. Literally it means “all the males by their skulls,” by their heads. So the Rema miPano, who authored a sefer called Asarah Ma’amaros, writes that Moshe Rabeinu would look at every single Jew when they came before him to present themselves. Moshe Rabeinu was able to see with ruach hakodesh how many times this individual would be required to come back in the world through gilgul. That’s what the remez of לגלגלתם means. Moshe Rabeinu was able to look at every single Jew with ruach hakodesh and see how many generations will each and every Jew be able to produce.^[i]

The Chasam Sofer in Yoreh Deah (294:9) actually talks about this at length after quoting this Rema miPano.^[ii] Now this is something! The concept of gilgul is alluded to in this passuk. It’s alluded in this passuk of כל זכר לגלגלתם. It’s not a system that was created only later on. It was a system that was created from the beginning of time, designed to help people fulfill their mission. Every Jew has a tafkid in this world, and until you fulfill your tafkid, you have to come back into this world. Of course, if somebody fulfills his tafkid, he is exempt from coming back again and again and again. If someone doesn’t fulfill his tafkid, he has to come back and be mesaken and correct what he didn’t accomplish in a previous lifetime.

Yessuirim As a Purification Mechanism

Now, as Peleh Yoetz (R’ Eliezer Papo, 1785-1828) says, this is a very important bit of information to enable us to understand the judgments of Hashem.^[iii] As the Torah says, הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ – “The Rock, whose deeds are perfect” (Devarim 32:4).Everything Hashem does is just. There is no makom to complain against the middos of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, like is the custom of many fools among our nation. When yesurim, difficult yesurim come upon them, they open up their big mouths klapei Hashem and they say, “Ribono Shel Olam, what did I do that wrong to deserve such retribution?! Is my sin worse than the entire world? Why would You do this to somebody who is frum, one of Your servants?!” If you understood this – that Hashem metes out to everybody what they deserve, and through the gilgulim people come, and go through all kinds of purification processes, and everything is meted out in very exact ways –  the person who knows that will say, ‘מה רבו מעשיך ה – “How great are Your deeds, Hashem!” (Tehillim 104:24). How great is Your love for us that You ensure that none of us should get lost!

We have to understand that the tafkid for which we came to this world, that our neshamah has to fulfill, will have to be fulfilled by hook or by crook, no matter what. And then when you have a situation like Coronavirus, where chashuvim, tzaddikim died and you begin to wonder, “What did they do so wrong? Why them?” And the answer is – this is one of the ways to understand it – that there is a system of gilgulim. The world is run by Hakadosh Baruch Hu and He knows who needs what. If somebody was pogem his neshamah and he didn’t do a certain mitzvah, he’s going to have to come back in a gilgul so that the mitzvah should be presented to him again and he should perform it, or he’s going to have a nisayon of that aveirah that he did in a previous gilgul and he should now keep away from.

This is a very important concept, because there are many people that know themselves and they know their weaknesses. They think that because they were born with this weakness that they seemed to have before they even acquired any da’as, how can they be held responsible? We had an urge to do these aveiros before we were even responsible for aveiros. The Vilna Gaon (Sefer Yonah 4:3) explains that many times Hakadosh Baruch Hu has to enable a person to know the purpose that he came to this world for. So if you see a person who has certain types of behaviors, today we put a name to it. We say he’s lazy. We say he’s obsessive. We say he’s impulsive. We say he’s obsessive compulsive. But what it really is, is Hakadosh Baruch Hu letting him know that he’s missing this mitzvah and by avoiding this negative behavior he’s fulfilling his mission in this world.^[iv]

A Spiritual Cause For OCD

Many times I’ve received phone calls from people who told me they had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). One of the ways this condition manifests itself is, for example, when you wash your hands al netilas yadayim, or when you come out of the bathroom, you wash many, many times. You’re never convinced that your hands get clean. I remember the first time many years ago when somebody called me and asked, “What’s the reason for this?” I said, “All conditions that a person has, are sent to a person to let him know what his purpose in this world is. You know perhaps in a previous lifetime you were lenient in netilas yadayim.” Chazal talk about netilas yadayim as a very important thing. Many people get mixed up and they do netilas yadayim like they do mayim achronim. They pour a little finger water, wipe their hands together and they say, “I am good to go.” A person has to understand that you need to wash properly. There are a lot of halachos for washing hands.

If you would have seen my rebbi (HaRav Meir Halevi Soloveichik) wash his hands, you would think he was doing an avodah in the Beis Hamikdash. He was medakdek in so many details, so many halachos, because he didn’t want to chas veshalom transgress any of them. When he came to a chasunah of his own child, he made sure to bring a cup for washing. I asked him, “Why is Rebbi bringing this kos? It’s not an outdoor wedding.” He said, “I need it for netilas yadayim.” I said, “Rebbi, with all due respect. This is your simchah. This is a very big hall. It’s a very famous hall. I’m sure they have enough kosos over there that you can go to the mikveh in them. You’re afraid you’re not going to have a kos?” He looked me in the eye and he said, “Do you know how stringent the halachos of a kos are? Do you know how many of those kosos are problematic? They’re chipped. They’re bent. They’re not the ideal kosos to use, so I bring one from my house and I know for sure it is okay.” I was thinking to myself, “The Rebbi is intense. That is serious.”

Then at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who pour a little finger water and they’re good to go. They think they did Hashem a favor by washing their hands. And they’re mezalzel in the mitzvah.

I told this man, “What I suggest you do, is be mekabel upon yourself to learn hilchos netilas yadayim and to start undertaking to be medakdek in your washing of the hands.” And you want to know something? He called me back a couple of months later and he told me that his problem is going away. I said, “Did you see therapists during this while?” He said, “No. I saw a therapist before I came to you. It didn’t work. I even tried some medication but it didn’t agree with me. I was desperate so I called you.” He said, “Do you think this condition is for that?” “It’s very possible. Why not?”

Various Examples Of Gilgulim

If you would look in the sefarim and see what things people came back for, it would blow your mind to understand the din of shamayim.  So when a person has an opportunity to be mesaken himself, he should pay attention.

In the Sha’ar Hagilgulim from Rav Chaim Vital, he talks about a person who is בא על הנידה. They’re not careful with the halachos of niddah. They come back in a goyah, in a gentile woman’s body. How many gentile women are running around out there with Jewish neshamos? And many of them will attest to this, that they have a certain affinity to Jews.  You wonder, where does a non-Jewish woman get an affinity to Jews? A psychologist once brought me a book. He was somebody who worked in this field. The book was full of information on women from the Midwest of America who had never seen a Jew, never had any connection to a Jew, and when they went into therapy and hypnosis, they knew all about Judaism. It’s mind boggling. Now they came back in these neshamos.

A person can be mesgalgel into a rock or into a dog. I’ve had many people tell me, “Rabbi, my dog is definitely Jewish.” And it’s funny. They say Rabbi, “Do you believe me?” I say, “I really shouldn’t believe you because you don’t know what you’re talking about, but actually I do believe you because it could be your dog is Jewish.” There was one guy who was not frum, but he would go to Shabbos meals in people’s homes and he would tell his dog on Erev Shabbos, whatever the guy’s name was, “Ruff Ruff. It’s Shabbos today. Tonight we go to Shabbos.” And the dog would start jumping up and down. It would be mamash like techiyas hameisim. It was unbelievable.

Many people are mesgalgel in all types of animals. People are mesgalgel in bees. A person can mesgalgel in a bee. Here’s a person who called me up recently and said that for two years in a row right before Pesach he got stung by a bee. What does that mean? I said, “I’m not sure. I have to think about it.” It could very well be that in that bee was a neshamah of somebody that this person had unfinished business with from a previous lifetime and now that bee came to give her a sting. It’s unbelievable, how a person who doesn’t talk properly, that person comes back as a bird. But all of this applies if a person doesn’t do teshuvah. If a person does teshuvah there’s אין דבר העומד בפני התשובה (Yerushalmi Peah; Zohar). People who are over mitzvos intentionally, they come back in monkeys and they come back in cats. There’s a long list for different aveiros. Therefore, I suggest if you want to minimize your returns, so you should do teshuvah for your aveiros.

She Took Her Husband Away From Eisek HaTorah

Now, I want to share with you an amazing story. It really shook me and left an indelible impression. Rav Shalom Schwadron (1912-1997) writes this story. “I heard this story from the great tzaddik, mori verabi Rav Eliyahu Dushnitzer (1877-1949).” (Rav Eliyahu Dushnitzer was one of the handful of top talmidim of the Chafetz Chaim and Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv – the Alter of Kelm). Rav Eliyahu said about this story to Rav Shalom: ‘You can repeat it, and it’s worthwhile to repeat it. You could preface it by saying that I told you this story exactly the way I heard it mipi hagaon, the great gadol Harav Elazar Moshe miPinsk.’” Rav Dushnitzer was an amazing talmid chacham and he said to Rav Shalom, “You know me,” his rebbi told him. “I don’t lie, chas veshalom. I also don’t exaggerate and I didn’t add one iota to this story. I’m just repeating to you word for word like I heard from Rav Elazar Moshe.” So this is the story:

There was a man in the city of Kelm. He was a businessman, but he was a serious ben Torah. His name was Rav Nota. He had an only child, a daughter, who he married off to a young bachur who was an outstanding ben yeshivah and a talmid chacham. The father gave them a very generous dowry of thousands of rubles, and he told them they could also live in his home on his cheshbon for a number of years and then afterwards, when he’s finished, he’ll have the money to make a business.

The chosson sat and learned Torah for a number of years. When his time was up, they moved out of his house. The daughter turned to her husband and said, “How are we going to support ourselves now?” So the husband said, “I appreciate your question but there’s no way that I can stop learning and throw myself into work and take the whole Torah and put it in the ocean.” So the wife came up with a brilliant idea. “Let’s take the money that my father gave us, we’ll open up a business. I will stand there all day, except for two hours by day that you’ll be there, and the rest of the time you could continue and learn your Torah like until now.” The guy was maskim and he did this.

Now in the first three months they actually did it like this, but after three months, two hours became four hours and eventually four hours became eight hours until he was completely immersed in the business and he had no time anymore to even open a gemara.

One day, on Motzei Shabbos after midnight, a heavy snow was coming down. The lady went out to spill out a barrel of unclean water and upon her return it seemed that she was choking and she was not able to speak. Her husband ran immediately to the doctor and called him to his house. The doctor came and he didn’t know what to do. The next day he went with her from doctor to doctor and eventually they traveled to the city of Vienna, which was a big city, and no one was able to help her.

They began to talk in the city where she came from, that maybe this is a dibuk that entered her body. They went to the city of Stutzin in Poland. (That’s where Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz came from. He was known as Rav Chaim Stutziner.) In that city there was a mekubal, a real kabbalist whose name was Rav Menachem Mendel, zt”l. People would travel to him with such issues. When they came back to him, he asked the dibuk a question and they actually heard a voice responding to him. Now when the dibuk responds, the stomach goes in and out, but the lips of the person do not move. Everybody present there was shocked, and they said, “Aha! It’s taka a dibuk.” But Rav Mendel said, “I’m not sure yet.” He said, “Tell me who is accompanying you?” He said, “Five angels of destruction.” He asked him what their names are. The dibuk answered this, this, this, this and this. Rav Mendel said, “Ah, this is taka a real dibuk.”

He began to ask the dibuk questions. “Who are you?” He answered that he lived tens of years ago in the city of Brisk where he was a bachur. He was a Brisker bachur and then he traveled to South Africa. He got into the wrong crowd over there and he was over on kol haTorah kulah. One time he was traveling on a wagon and the wagon overturned and he was killed. He’s now wandering in the world, by being mesgalgel. Rav Mendel asked him, “Why didn’t you do teshuvah before you died?” He said, “Because of the pachad and I was discombobulated when I was thrown off the wagon, I forgot to do teshuvah.” Then he asked him, “What do you want from this lady? Why did you come into this lady and you caused her such tremendous yesurim?” He began to laugh in a loud voice, and he said, “The mother of this young lady and the mother of her husband who are already in the world of truth beseeched Hakadosh Baruch Hu in shamayim that I should enter this young lady’s body and I should cause her all these yesurim, because if not for this, there would be no hope for her in this world and in the next world because she took her husband away from eisek haTorah, Torah involvement.”

When they heard this, Rav Mendel said to the husband that he should immediately promise he’s going to go back to learning, and he promised to do that on the spot. Rav Nota, the girl’s father, promised he would learn mishnayos for that bachur, the dibuk, and he also said he would donate a number of candles to be lit for him in the beis hakenesses. Then Rav Mendel gathered a minyan of ten to say Tehillim. Rav Mendel stood behind those ten people, and they put this lady on a chair in the middle of the room. Suddenly she rolled off the chair and she fell on the ground heavily, and a terrible loud voice came out from her saying, “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem echad.” It was heard in the entire city of Stutchin. Then the fingernail of one of her hands on her pinky popped, the glass in the window popped, and everything went quiet.

That’s what Rav Eliyahu Hakohen Dushnitzer related to Rav Elyah Lopian, and he said [to Rav Shalom Schwardon] again, “You could relate this story in my name.”

Wandering Souls

Many people think that if they die and they didn’t complete what they had to complete so they come back right away into another birth, or they get born into an animal. It doesn’t work like that. Sometimes a person has to wander around the world for tens of years suffering, being accompanied by destroying angels and eventually maybe they go into some kind of an animal or they come back as a human being. Obviously, if they come back as a human being they have an opportunity to do mitzvos. But if Hashem sees they’re the type of person who won’t do the mitzvos, Hashem puts them in an animal because then He knows they’ll be safe. If He puts them in a dog or in a cat then they’re going to be safe.

Being Focused on Ratzon Hashem

Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to stay focused on our tafkid. People think they can do what they want. I just heard a rav speak about one of the terrible, terrible things that came out of the Coronavirus.^[v] There arose in Klal Yisrael mosrim and there were people who went and were snooping. They couldn’t fargin if anybody was davening. It was like the Spanish Inquisition. And as soon as they found out, they were taking pictures. At first they said it was goyim who were doing it. Then they said it was not frum Jews. But sadly many frum Jews whose heads were twisted and they thought they were being osek leshem shamayim became mosrim. They didn’t have a psak from any adam gadol to be a moser. Because one of their friends who has a few whiskers told them it’s a big mitzvah or some doctor told them it’s a big mitzvah to tell people about Yidden davening, it doesn’t mean it’s the worst aveirah to daven during the time of the Coronavirus restrictions.

If you look in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat (388:10) what it says about mosrim, it’s one of the only sins that someone could take a life without going to a court.^[vi] You don’t need a beis din of chaf gimmel. You have to look in the Shulchan Aruch. I don’t suggest anybody do that before you ask an adam gadol, but if you look in Shulchan Aruch you’ll see it’s not a simple thing. Everybody thinks it’s a hefker velt but they don’t even realize, there’s a famous Chasam Sofer in (Drashos, Parshas Eikev) that mentions that during mageifos, one of the big yetzer haras, theSatan, comes out and he gets people to close down shuls and batei midrashos. That’s part of the mageifah, he says. The Satan wants to undermine our avodah, to pull the rug out from Klal Yisrael.^[vii]

Now, I don’t care that the doctors said it was dangerous.  I saw some guy sign a letter that Covid was dangerous. I said, “What kind of doctor is he?” I was told he was a podiatrist. I said, “A podiatrist?! Are you joking around?!” He’s closing down the shuls here. That’s who’s running the world. You have to understand this is very not pashut, very not pashut, and they’re fighting it now.

Now, baruch Hashem, the roshei yeshivah and others in Lakewood decided enough is enough. It’s time to daven. And they allowed minyanim to start all over the place. Tens, if not hundreds of minyanim. I was speaking to somebody and I said, “So why don’t you open up too?” He said, “Oh no. It’s too dangerous.” I said, “Dangerous? Lakewood is the test. They’re davening for weeks now. Are they dying like flies like these prophets of doom promised is going to happen?” So you know what the rav answered me? “Lakewood China.” I said, “Excuse me? You realize what you’re saying is ridiculous?” But they don’t want to hear the truth, so they say ‘funny’ comments. Lakewood China.

Rabbi Akiva Eiger’s Psak During The Cholera

I told somebody, “There is no one in this world today who is as great as Rabbi Akiva Eiger.”  The biggest gadol in the world today doesn’t come to the ankles of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. And Rabbi Akiva Eiger (1761-1837) had the same problem. He lived in the 1830s, during the Second Cholera Pandemic (1826-1837). That pandemic made Coronavirus look like a silly cold. Nothing in comparison. That was a killer pandemic, not because Dr. Fauci said so, or some podiatrist said so. It was the facts. In some large European towns more than 50% of the people that got infected died. That’s more than one in two people! Millions upon millions of people died around the world, including Asia and Europe. But nowhere near the death numbers or the mortality rate of Covid. And there were people in those days who insisted you have to close down the shuls. It was much more contagious where a person could die very fast. They didn’t have ventilators in those days. They didn’t have fancy machinery and PPEs and all the other narishkeit. They didn’t have that.

They tried to close down the minyanim and Rabbi Akiva Eiger wrote a letter stating absolutely not to do so. He said, “Absolutely not.” He said that fifteen people could daven in a shul and they shouldn’t sit next to each other and they should skip one place.^[viii] He said, “We need the shuls to help us stop the epidemic. You want to stop the epidemic? Be marbeh betzedakah.” Afterwards he wrote a letter that in his city almost no one was affected by this cholera because they listened.^[ix] “On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” he said, “there are two doctors in the shul.” In every shul there are two doctors. He wrote, “If you have the slightest feeling of not being well, run to the doctors.” If you wait one extra second, it’s pikuach nefashos for others. But if you don’t have anything, you sit and you daven like a mentsch.

He wasn’t concerned about pikuach nefesh. Rabbi Akiva Eiger didn’t know better scientific information, but he knew about davening. Afra lepumaya of these shotim who forced rabbanim to sign proclamations against davening. Everybody was quoting a certain posek. I had somebody call the posek. You know what the posek said? “I don’t have any idea about this virus. I don’t know anything about it. I’m just following what the doctor told me. Call the doctor. Don’t call me.” He was the posek. You know what that is? We live with that bizayon. You may as well have called the rav half an hour before Shabbos and tell him “It’s pikuach nefesh. We have to close down Klal Yisrael.” So he’ll say, “Under the circumstances and the pressure. Okay, close it down.”

We Are Each Responsible For Every Action

And that’s what a person has to understand. Every ma’aseh that a person does, he’s going to be responsible for. I called a number of rabbanim in Cleveland and said, “If you’re really so concerned about people’s health, I want to inform you that there are huge supermarkets that I went to see, to witness. And guess what? They are full of people!” (Before the fifty people rule, there was no limit. The supermarkets were full of Jews). “Why aren’t you standing over there and telling them there’s a concern?” “Oh.” I said, “Please answer me. How come a doctor is not standing there and warning people not to go in? You know why? Because he doesn’t care about the supermarkets. His wife has to go shopping. He’s not going to have his fresh vegetables.” But shuls? I told this rav, “Do you think there’s any possibility that maybe the doctors don’t appreciate enough the meaning of כי הם חיינו?” He said, “Oh no! No. Not at all. These doctors know that.” So how come they’re not by any other business? Of course when I screamed loud enough, eventually they started on  the other businesses too. And then monkey see, monkey do. If one city does it, others have to do it. Everybody’s going to copy. But the first thing that we shut down was shuls, batei kenesios and talmud Torahs.

Hashem should protect us and watch over us and put this thing behind us quickly and let us get restarted with not having more korbanos from people who won’t walk into shuls again, and people who won’t walk into batei medrashos again, because I’m sure there’s going to be a velt of korbanos who are not going to walk into a shul for who knows how long, and I’m sure there’s going to be a velt of bachurim who are not the strongest of bachurim spiritually who will never go to yeshivah again. They’ll just say, “What do I need yeshivah for?” It’s ridiculous.

Somebody called me today and said, “Did you hear the last statistic? 82% of Americans don’t want to go back to work! You know what they want? Monthly stimulus checks.” I’m thinking to myself, “The world has gone nuts. This is what happens when you take them out of work!” They want to stay home, have a vacation like they never had before, and the government should support them. Hashem yeshmereinu!

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^[i] כתב הרמ”ע מפאנו בעשרה מאמרות (מאמר אם כל חי ח”א סי’ ג’), וז”ל: ועליהם נאמר לגלגלתם שהיה משרע”ה צופה ברוה”ק מנין הטיפין שבראש כל א’ וכו’ שכל מי שהיה עתיד להוליד ס’ רבוא היה נמנה ראש משפחה וכו’ ויותר מזה היה ג”כ צופה ומביט בכל אחד ואחד מהם, והוא רז נגלה במלה הנזכרת למי שישית עליה לב ע”כ. ופי’ המפרש שהי’ מביט בכל א’ כמה פעמים שיצטרך להתגלגל וזה לשון לגלגלתם, וכו’.

^[ii] ומוסיף הח”ס שם, וז”ל: ולפ”ז ה”ה במחצית השקל דכתיב בקע לגלגלת בפ’ פקודי ואינם נימנים אלא מבן י”ג או מבן עשרים ויעיין מג”א סי’ תרצ”ד ס”ק ג’ נמי נימא כנ”ל שלא נתן אלא מי שהי’ בראשו טפין להוליד ס’ רבוא וזה א”א להתקבל אמנ’ במן עומר לגלגלת י”ל כפשוטו אם הי’ לו ילד בשני גלגלת נפל לו ב’ עומרי’ דמבואר פ’ י”הכ דאפי’ לתינוק בן יומו נפל עומרו [ע”ש ע”ה ע”א גבי בן ט’ לראשון וכו’ ויש לדחות]

^[iii] וגם מתוך אמונת הגלגול ידע האדם כי משפטי ה’ אמת, הצור תמים פעלו כי כל דרכיו משפט (דברים לב ד) ולא יתרעם על מדותיו יתברך כמנהג כמה בוערים בעם שכאשר באים עליהם יסורים קשים פוערים פיהם כלפי מעלה ואומרים, רבונו של עולם מה פשעי ומה חטאתי, האם חטאי ופשעי גברו על כל העולם, למה תעשה כה לעבדיך. ולו חכמו ישכילו כי הצור תמים פעלו וכל דרכיו משפט אל אמונה ואין עול צדיק וישר הוא (שם), נותן לאיש כדרכיו וכפרי מעלליו ולו נתכנו עלילות. ואם בגלגול זה זך וישר פעלו, אלו היסורים הם לו על הגלגולים שעברו. כידוע מאמר המקבלים שגלו, שיסורי איוב בהיותו תם וישר וירא אלקים וסר מרע נתחיב בהם על הגלגול שעבר, שהיה תרח אבי אברהם אבינו עליו השלום. וגם בזה יש לשוב לדעת על יסורים קשים שסובלים ילדים קטנים עתיקי משדים גמולי מחלב ומיתת קטנים שעל חטאות נעורים שולח הקדוש ברוך הוא כי תלד אשתו נשמה שחיבת מיתה לתקן את אשר עותו, ואגב ימצאו אביו ואמו כדי גאלתם בצערם שיצטערו במיתתו. וגם על ידי הגלגולים מתגלגלים עניני הזווגים ומיתות וכל המקרים הכל הוא מפלאות תמים דעים במדה במשקל ובמשורה, כאשר הרואה בספרי המקבלים המספרים עניני הגלגולים בעיניו יראה ולבבו יבין ויאמר מה רבו מעשיך ה’ ומה נפלאת אהבתו לנו אשר חשב מחשבות לבלתי ידח ממנו נדח. יהי שם ה’ מברך ומרומם על כל ברכה ותהלה (פלא יועץ מ״ח)

^[iv] כי טוב מותי מחיי. כמ”ש “ושבח אני את המתים שכבר מתו מן החיים אשר הם חיים כו’ “. ולכאורה “שכבר מתו” וכן “אשר הם חיים” ייתור דברים, אלא שרצה לומר שטובים הם המתים שכבר מתו ולא נצטרכו לבוא בגלגול מאותן שהם חיין עדנה שבאו בגלגול, ובזה מיושב דאמרו נמנו וגמרו טוב לאדם שלא נברא כו’ עד יפשפש במעשיו [עירובין יג]. דקשה היאך אפשר לומר שטוב יותר, אם כן למה נברא. ועוד, “ועכשיו שנברא” קשה להולמו, ועוד, מאי “יפשפש” כו’, הוה ליה למימר יעבוד את ה’ ויעשה טוב, אלא נראה דנחלקו בשוב אל הגלגול השני, שאלו אומרים טוב לו שנברא, כי בכל פעם הוא עושה מצות כמו שכתבו קצת מפרשים. ואלו אומרים טוב לו יותר אם היה מתקן גלגול ראשון ולא יצטרך בגלגול שני. וכן נמנו וגמרו כנ”ל. וזהו “ושבח אני את המתים כו’ “. וקאמרי “ועכשיו שנברא” על כרחך לתקן מעשיו שמקודם ולא בשביל מצות לעשות, כי טוב לו כו’ כנ”ל, ועל כן יראה עיקר לתקן במה שפשע מקדם כמ”ש אבוך במאי זהיר טפי כו’. והיאך ידע מה שקלקל מקדם, יש על זה שני סימנים, א’ במה שנכשל בה בגלגול זה הרבה פעמים. ועל זה אמרו “יפשפש במעשיו” באיזה נכשל, ב’ באיזה עבירה נפשו חשקה לו מאד לפי שהורגלה מקודם ונעשה טבע, ולכך יש בני אדם שחושקין בעבירה אחת יותר וזה בעבירה אחרת. ועל זה אמרו “יפשפש במעשיו”, שימשמש מעשיו (הגר”א על ס’ יונה שם)

^[v] This shiur was given on May 19, 2020

^[vi] מותר להרוג המוסר בכל מקום אפי’ בזמן הזה ומותר להורגו קודם שימסור אלא כשאמר הריני מוסר פלוני בגופו או בממונו אפי’ ממון קל התיר עצמו למיתה ומתרין בו ואומרים לו אל תמסור אם העז פניו ואמר לא כי אלא אמסרנו מצוה להורגו וכל הקודם להרגו זכה: הגה ואם אין פנאי להתרות בו א”צ התראה (המגיד פ”ח דחובל) וי”א דאין להרוג המוסר אא”כ אי אפשר להינצל ממנו בא’ מאיבריו אבל אם אפשר להציל באחד מאיבריו כגון לחתוך לשונו או לסמות עיניו אסור להורגו דהרי לא גרע משאר רודף (תשו’ מיי’ הנ”ל ומרדכי הנ”ל בשם תשו’ מהר”מ)

^[vii] וז”ל שם, וכו’: ברוך תהי’ מכל העמים לא יהי’ בך עקר ועקרה ובבהמתך. ודרשו חז”ל [בכורות מ”ד:] עקר מתלמידים. וצ”ע מה לשון עקרה תינח עקר אבל עקרה מאי. אבל בעו”ה הניסיון יתרץ קושי’ זו, בהקדים דהרב מקרי זכר המשפיע והתלמידים נקבות המקבלים. והנה זה יותר מארבעים שנה תלי”ת שלא נתבטלה ישיבה מעל שולחני אפי’ יום אחד, והשתא הכא רבו עוונותי וגבר עלי חולי וחולימה ונתבטלתי הרבה מהרבצת תורה והתלמידים עמדו ויחלו כמטר לי ולא יכולתי להשפיעם כרצונם והריני עקר בעו”ה, ועתה אחר כל זאת בחסדי הי”ת חזרתי לימי עלומי ויכולתי כרצוני, הנה רעש גדול בעולם מחשש מגפה וחרב ומלחמה, והתלמידים נרדפים ממקומם מתפזרים אנה ואנה ולא מצאו מנוח בכל המקומות והשרים יועצים לטובה שנשלח עכ”פ ריבוי התלמידים כי ישראל כקוצים בעיני העמים וכל הדרכים מסוגרים מיוצא ובא ואנה ילכו עניי צאן הדחופים האלו, הרי מתחלה הי’ הבטול ע”י הרב שהי’ עקר ועתה מטעם התלמידים היינו עקרה בעו”ה, והיינו עקר עקרה. ובזה יובן ש”ס פרק חלק (סנהדרין צ”ח ע”א) אין בן דוד בא עד שיבוקש דג לחולה ולא ימצא. פירוש כי ידוע (ברכות ס”א ע”ב) כשאמר פפוס לרבי עקיבא מאי טעמא עוסק בתורה נגד גזירת המלכות, והשיב לו אמשול לך משל לשועל שעמד על שפת הנהר ואמר לדגים מאי טעמא אתם רצים הנה והנה, אמרו לו מפני שאנו מתיראים מפני הציידים, אמר להם צאו אלי היבשה ונלחמה עמהם, אמרו לו אין אתה פקח אלא טיפש שבחיות, השתא במים שהו מקום חיותנו אנו יראים מפני הציידים, ועל ביבשה שהוא מקום מיתתינו על אחת כמה וכמה. אמנם כוונת השועל היה להטעותם להוציאם ממקום חיותם. ואמר רבי עקיבא ה”נ ומה בשעה שאנו עוסקים בתורה כי היא חיינו ואורך ימינו אנו מתיראים, אם נשמע לקול השועל שלא לעסוק בתורה על אחת כמה וכמה – הנה כן הדבר הזה ממש, כל זמן משען שהישיבות בעולם, אעפ”י שהציידים רודפים תמיד ואין רגע בלא פגע, מ”מ זכות התורה מגין, אבל עתה הלביש את עצמו כשועל ליעץ לטוב לבטל כל הישיבות בכל המדינה, ואם יבוא ח”ו ויגש הרעה והמגפה או דברים שאנו יריאים מי יגן ביבשה בלי תורה. והנה עצת השועל הזה המתנכר להטיב הוא יותר רע ומר מהציידים הרעים כשאנו במים. וכבר כתבתי לעיל דאין בן דוד בא עד ש”אפס עצור ועזוב” [דברים ל״ב:לו] על כן אמרו אין בן דוד בא עד שיבוקש דג לחולה, היינו תלמידים השטים במי התורה יבקשו לרפאות כל חלי ולא ימצאו בעו”ה, ואז היא דיוטא התחתונה, ואז רגילה נצפה לבן דוד בב”א – ועל כן אמר בברכתן של ישראל, לא יהיה בך עקר מצד הרב ולא עקרה מצד התלמידים, ושלא תאמר שהבטיח כן להגן מן האומות שלא ישלטו עלינו, על כן הקדים ברוך תהיה מכל העמים ולא תצטרך להגנה, ומ”מ לא יהיה בך עקר ועקרה [דרוש א – תקצ”א, ס”א א’]

^[viii] מכתבו הגיעני, בענין תפלה בבית הכנסת, לדעתי זה אמת שהקיבוץ במקום צר אינו נכון אבל אפשר להתפלל כתות כתות ובכל פעם במתי מעט, ערך ט”ו אנשים, ויתחילו כאור הבקר ואחרי’ כת אחרת, ויהי’ מיוחד לאנשים אלו באיזהו זמן יבואו להתפלל שם, וכן במנחה, וכו’ (אגרות רבי עקיבא איגר)

^[ix] ואחר כל זאת נודה לה’ אלקינו על חסד גדול שהפליא ע”ד הפלא על התלמידים בני הישיבה הי עליהם יחיו שלא פגע בשום אחד מהם שום חולי ומכאוב ולא שום ענין מענין החולי ההוא, ועל זה לא לבד שבני הישיבה יתנו תודה לאלקינו אך כל בני הקהלה כי בזכותם וצדקתם הי’ זאת לנו כאשר אבאר בעזה”י. [והוא כי ידוע ומפורסם לרבים רב טוב בני קהלתינו בהחזקת ישיבה זה קרוב לכ”ו שנה אשר זכני ה’ לישב פה והם מחזיקים למאות תלמידים מי יפאר גודל פאר אנשי קהלתינו על זה, ומ”ם לאו כל הזמנים ולאו כל המקומות ולאו כל העתים שוים לפעמים יש ויש אנשים אשר עיניהם צרה ופוערים פיהם כי קשה עליהם עול סבלם ובכל זאת לא פגע ולא נגע בהם שום אדם מעולם, אבל עכ”פ דבר שפתיים אך למחסור ויהי’ ח”ו למזכרת עון. והנה בזמן המגפה העבר הי’ עין בריה צרה בחברתה בלא”ה ומכ”ש בבכורי דלים הללו, ואלו ח”ו נחלה א’ מהם אעפ”י שבודאי היו גומלים עמהם חסד כדרכם מ”מ יש ויש שהיו פותחים פיהם ומדברים מה לנו לסבול עול אחרים אומללים האלו ישובו איש לביתו והי’ ח”ו דבורים כאלה לעורר דין על הקהלה, והקב”ה חפץ בהצדקם ע”כ יהיב עינא פקיחא לבל ישלוט שום חולי ורפיון באלו – וזהו רמוז בפסוק שאנו בו, כרחם אב על בנים ריחם ה’ על יראיו היינו בחורים לומדי תורה שזכרנו והטעם כי הוא ידע יצרנו שרגילים לפצות פה ולדבר דברים שלא כהוגן זכור כי עפר אנחנו ואין מעצור לאיש עפר מן האדמה, ע”כ חם הקב”ה על יראיו ולא פגע בהם החולי כלל ויחלימם ויחי’ אותם, וכו’; דרוש הודאה אחר המגפה חולי קאלרא – תקצ”ב, ס”ב א’-ב’].