Community Magazine February 2003

34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE s ” xc do. The Bacause the Noem Elimelech was a Chassidic Rabbi with different traditions, some people were skeptical, since this idea wasn’t brought down in the teachings of the Ari z”l, the quintessential Sephardic Kabbalist. Rabbi Ben Shaul Abba Shaul, in his book Or L’Zion Hachmah U’Mussar cites Rabbi Alfia’s calculations, “It’s easy . . . and isn’t it worth it to acquire so many fasts? . . . Although we don’t have this tra- dition from the Ari z”l, nevertheless a great man said it, and that’s good enough.” To further take advantage of this idea, Rabbi Alfia instituted the concept of Taanit Dibur, a fast from speaking, on the day that the one completes Tehillim three times. Rabbi Alfia also started Chevrat Oleh Regalim, a group of people who would visit the Kotel on the Shalosh Regalim (the three festivals) like all the Jews did in the time of the Holy Temple. In 1948, after the Jordanian riots, the Jews were forced to evacuate the Old City. On his way out of the Old City, Rabbi Alfia met a great rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yechiel Tuchachinsky; they started weep- ing bitterly. The son of the rabbi asked Rabbi Alfia, “It’s bad that we’re leaving, but why do you weep so bitterly?” Rabbi Alfia answered, “Jerusalem down here is like Jerusalem in the Heavens. If G-d sent us out of Jerusalem down here, it means G-d and his angels had to leave the Jerusalem of above. If we’re exiled, they are exiled. I’m not crying over us, I’m cry- ing over what is happening in Heaven at this time.” Rabbi Alfia’s tremendous love for the Jewish nation may just have saved Jerusalem from Nazi invasion during World War II. During the time that the Germans had allied with the Arabs, and were advancing. Rabbi Alfia had a dream that he needed to pray by the grave of Rav Yaakov Abuchazeirah to help the situation. So he took a dangerous train ride to a place in Egypt called Daman Hoor. For three days, he accepted a Taanit Dibur and prayed inside the room where the tomb was located. Miraculously, after these three days, the Germans turned around and left without entering Jerusalem. It turned out that after drinking contaminated water, the German legions suffered stomach attacks so severe that they were unable to continue on. It was a complete miracle that came about from the prayers of the great Rabbis of the generation.One story about Rabbi Alfia’s life was particularly unique. When a person passes away, the family does tikkunim to raise the soul of the deceased. Rabbi Alfia said, “Why wait for my children? I want to do tikkunim for myself while I am still alive.” Sure enough one day he laid on his bed, said Vidui, the confession on says before dying, recited Shema and closed his eyes as if he died. They put shrouds on his body, put him on the ground, and lit candles around him. Then, they carried to him toward Har haZeitim, where the cemetery is, stopping on the way to the Midrash where he used to pray. At the Midrash, he got up, stood by the pulpit, and eulogized himself. After the eulogy, he said Kadish for himself. Then, they carried him back to the ceme- tery, put him in the grave and threw in some stones. He then got up, said Kaddish and Hashkavah. At the end of seven days, there was a reading. After thirty, there was an Arayat. A year later, he made another Arayat. Every year, on his yaerzheit, he got ten Rabbis to learn, made a seudah and said berachot for his soul. Besides the desire to make the tikkunim himself, Rabbi Alfia said he had other private rea- sons for doing all this. (See the sidebar for possible insights on these other reasons). Zechor Yom HaMitah – Remember the Day of Your Death T he students of the Yeshiva of Navardok were known for their extreme level of bitachon. Once a boy from the yeshiva sent a letter to Rabbi Yerucham from the Mir Yeshiva. He didn’t have money for a stamp, so instead he wrote the word “bitachon” (faith) in the cor- ner. Indeed Rabbi Yerucham did receive the letter. These boys were taught that everything depends on Hashem’s will, to a point where a stamp isn’t necessary to mail a letter. Rav Ben Zion Brook, now a Rosh Yeshiva in Jerusalem, was a student at Navardoin his youth. As a man in his late teens, Rav Brook was still afraid of the dark. At Navardok, though, you can’t be afraid of anything, you need to learn to have complete bitachon. He had to work on himself to get rid of this fear. Every night, he would walk into the forest alone, but he would turn back when the fright from the howling wind and eerie silence of the Russian woods were too much for him to handle. Each night, he’d try to walk deeper and deeper for longer and longer, until he became less scared to walk in the forest alone at night. At the end of the forest, there was a cemetery. One night, he got the courage to enter the cemetery. On the next night, he walked around the cemetery a bit and noticed that there was a mausoleum at one end of the cemetery. The following night he forced him- self to enter the mausoleum. He was horrified to see a body laying on the slab, covered by a sheet. Candles were lit in the room. What could had happened? Had someone forgotten to bury this body he thought? Then suddenly, the body started to move; and began to get up. Terrified, Rav Brook shrieked and ran out of the room, as he ran he heards the body yell, “Ben Zion! Ben Zion!” Even more frightened—he kept running until he reached the safe walls of the Yeshiva. Rav Brook later found out that at the same time he was working on his phobia, his friend Rabbi Olamsky was working to “Zechor Yom Mitah,” remember the day you will die. He would go to the mausoleum at night and cover himself with a sheet to acquire the sense that death is imminent, and motivate himself to improve his ways. The Chafetz Chaim was once overheard making a heshbon hanefesh (accounting of the soul) saying to himself, “Yisrael Meir, you’re getting weak, you’re getting sick, and the doctor says it’s only a matter of days. Your family will come in, your friends will come is, you will say Vidui, and pass on,” The Chafetz Chaim continued as if this was really happening, “then you will arrive at the heavenly courts to be judged on your deeds and they’ll say, ‘Yisrael Meir, very good! Mishnah Berurah, very impressive! 6 volumes, everyone is learning, wonderful! Shemirat HaLashon, good job! But…you weren’t always happy. Things weren’t going so well, there was poverty, the children were sick, you weren’t perfect at these times. You weren’t happy enough, you don’t yet deserve Gan Eden.’ Then, the Chafetz Chaim picked up his head and said, “But I’m alive! I’m not dead yet! I can still be happy! I have more time! CM