On Fire for Hashem

The Torah commands us to be b’simcha on Yom Tov. On the holiday of Sukkos, though, we are enjoined to celebrate with extra joy, as the Rambam says in Hilchos Lulav (8:12),“On the festival of Sukkos there was additional celebration in the Temple.”

What was the nature of this simcha?

Sometimes a person becomes morose and believes that he is not worth anything. Yom Kippur has passed, and he made promises that he is now afraid he will be unable to keep. It will be like the previous year when he also made promises but was unable to follow through.

Sukkos teaches us the value of each individual.

Consider this contradiction. The walls of a sukkah can be built from pieces of wood and boards that have been discarded as rubbish. Broken tree branches can be used for the schach.

The Talmud (Sukkah 9a) tells us just as the name of Heaven appears with regard to the korban of the festival, so too the name of Heaven appears with regard to the sukkah; just as the korban of the festival is sacred so too is the sukkah sacred.

This transforms the sukkah into an entity of kedusha to the extent that one cannot use any element of it for mundane purposes. If one wishes to pull out a splinter from the wall to use as a toothpick that would be totally forbidden. Although only a few hours earlier the board had been in the trash, it has now become a holy article.

From here we learn that even an individual who feels worthless can renew his relationship with Hashem and sanctify himself during the festival of Sukkos. R’ Goel Elkarif expounds on the pasuk in Devarim (30:4),“Even if your exiles are at the end of the Heavens, Hashem will gather you from there ….” Even if a person finds himself at the ends of Heaven – he is in the periphery but still maintains some spiritual ties with Heaven – Hashem will take that small spark within him and restore his soul.

As HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach sat in his sukkahon Hoshana Rabbah, a family came to visit him. R’ Shlomo Zalman was elated to see them, and greatly enjoyed the time they spent with him. After they had left, a smile still danced on R’ Shlomo Zalman’s lips.

Unable to contain their curiosity, his talmidim asked, “Why is the Rebbi happy?”

“They are my talmidim,” he replied.

“But, Rebbi,” they exclaimed, “you have thousands of talmidim. What makes this talmid so special?”

Rav Auerbach then related that this talmid had experienced many challenges in his life. His father was irreligious; his mother was a ba’alas teshuvah. There was much discord in the household and the parents finally separated. The young man was crushed. He was unable to maintain his level of studies.

One Shabbos morning, he was observed getting into a taxi. When the administration found out about it, he was immediately expelled from the yeshiva.

As the bachur stood outside the yeshiva building waiting for his ride, with his luggage at his side, Rav Auerbach disembarked from a car at the curb. He asked the bachur why he was standing there with his luggage, and the boy explained that he had been thrown out of the yeshiva.

Dismayed to hear this, R’ Shlomo Zalman told the boy, “I am the rosh yeshiva here. No one gets expelled from my yeshiva without my express permission. Anyone wishing to take such a step must first speak to me.”

R’ Shlomo Zalman ushered the bachur into his office and then asked him to explain why the administration felt they had cause to expel him. The boy was, understandably, very embarrassed and did not know what to tell the rosh yeshiva.

All he could respond was, “Rebbi, I am too ashamed.”

Seeing the boy’s pain and anguish, R’ Shlomo Zalman conversed with him in a gentle tone, until the bachur finally said, “I hailed a taxi on Shabbos and got into it.” The bachur then revealed all the distressing details of his home life, and he began to cry.

“Tell me,” said R’ Shlomo Zalman softly, “while you were riding in the taxi on the holy Shabbos, what thoughts were going through your mind?”

“My insides were on fire,”he cried. “I could barely breathe. After two blocks I begged the driver to please stop the car and I ran out of the car. I could not bear to be in the car for a moment longer.”

“Would you ever repeat such a deed?” asked the rav.

“Never! Chas v’shalom!” he moaned.

“Go put your suitcases back in your room. You will remain in the yeshiva,” ordered R’ Shlomo Zalman.

“But everyone who sees me knows I am a bum. They know I was thrown out of yeshiva. Some of them saw me in the car on Shabbos. Who is going to learn with me? Nobody will want to be associated with me,” the boy sobbed.

“Don’t you worry about that,” R’ Shlomo Zalman assured him.

Rav Auerbach called over one of the best bachurim in the yeshiva, and suggested that he learn with the bachur. Of course, the boy was reluctant to do so, claiming that he was afraid of any negative effect that might present itself.

R’ Shlomo Zalman asked this outstanding student,“Are you on fire for Hashem?”

“Of course,” responded the boy.

“Then what will happen is that your fire will torch all the aveiros in that bachur who desecrated the Shabbos.” And so, one study period of learning was taken care of.

Rav Auerbach then approached another boy to cover the second period, and a third outstanding student learned with the bachur for the third study period.

This young man became an outstanding Torah scholar and raised a beautiful Torah family. They were the distinguished guests who visited Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach on Hoshana Rabbah and brought him such joy.