He gave up the Bar Mitzvah celebration in the synagogue and saved his mother

Debate in the synagogue between two families around the question: Which of their children will read in the Torah? Decided to give up one of the boys, a decision that saved his mother's life. Blessing of Blessings, page approx

He gave up the Bar Mitzvah celebration in the synagogue and saved his mother

The large, well-known synagogue in the center of the country did not know battle as it did on one of the summer Saturdays. The permanent gurus got the flu, instead Gabbai replaced him, and he did not know how to deal with the situation created by his shift: two families came to celebrate Bar Mitzvah for their children. This argues that her son should read in the Torah and the other will not give up the opportunity that her son will read in the Torah.

Arguments, shouts and even a little urgency were only part of that Saturday in the synagogue. Worshipers just wanted the "celebration" to end, if they could, some would bury themselves with shame. Then, at the height of the arguments, one boy stood up and told the family members: "I give up." He explained to all those around him how much he could not expect from the side in the grief of the boy from the other family. His parents asked him again, "Are you sure?", And he answered yes.

The remaining hours to end the Sabbath prayer, the family whose son gave up the celebration passed in the shadow of the joy of the other family. The boy who gave up the reading, though he did go to the Torah, threw candy at him as usual, but his parents thought that the long period he spent devoted to studying the case in the synagogue was down the drain. Late in the morning, at the conclusion of the prayer, the families apologized to each other and returned to their homes.

Boys celebrate with the Torah. Illustration. (Photo: Reuben Castro)

Second laps at Simchat Torah, Yad Binyamin at Nahal Sorek Regional Council, October 21, 2019 (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Five years passed, one of the great ultra-Orthodox rabbis, the late Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was admitted to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. At the last minute, the rabbi who was supposed to be released to his home was left to supervise his doctors on Shabbos. His family and relatives conducted the prayers with him in his room. Because there is no one to read in the Torah.

The rabbi's students searched the hospital until they encountered a young boy who expressed his desire to read the Torah. It was the boy who gave up his reading on Saturday when Bar Mitzvah was celebrated. He told the worshipers: "I know how to read this affair because this is the affair I made for my Bar Mitzvah." At the conclusion of the prayer, he asked to be blessed by Rabbi Elyashiv. He told the rabbi the story and added: "Why am I in the hospital? My mother is hospitalized here, I ask that the rabbi bless her."

Rabbi Elyashiv, who admired the boy's dedication, told the guy: "Your commandment will certainly have a big impact." A few days later, and contrary to all odds, the boy's mother was released from the hospital.

Rabbi Chaim David Kowalski, the digital Gemara presenter, explained that we learn from this story a "very powerful" message. According to him, "like the magnitude of dedication, so is the power of the miracle. A few years earlier, the mother did not understand her son's decision. In his decision to give up, he created the tools in the sky that Saturday, a few years later, he would receive the miracle for the Torah reading. Raises forces against nature. "

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (Photo: Omar Miron)

Heads of seminars in meeting with Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, July 2011 (Photo: Omar Miron)

Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. (Photo: Moore Shauli)

Shaare Zedek Hospital, February 2015 (Photo: Moore Shauli)

The Digital Gemara is the first venture of its kind led by Rabbi Haim David Kowalski, founder and head of the Daily Page Lights organization, in which anyone can be part of the hundreds of thousands around the country and the world who regularly study one Gemara page daily by watching a short daily video clip. The Babylonian Talmud in its most popular version has 2,711 pages. Rabbi Kowalski's Digital Gemara is presented, and through it, you will meet every day at significant and fascinating points related to daily life, based on the daily study of the Gemara.

Rabbi Meir Shapiro conceived the idea of ​​regular daily study somewhere in 1923. Rabbi Shapiro had one major goal: to encourage all levels of the public to set times for Torah study and to create a common denominator among all learners, regardless of class, profession, or country of origin. Today, 96 years after the initiative launched, hundreds of thousands of Jews across the country and the world are studying together in a regular learning cycle that lasts seven and a half years. The last cycle of the daily page began a few days ago, joining thousands of people who have not shared it so far.

For the Digital Gemara website: Click here.

A Purple to Be Saved from the Evil Eye: Tractate Greetings, page ca.