S/o Most disturbing story or lesson

Shmoozinator

Sat, Sep 10 2022, 6:53 pm

I just want to say, thank you so much for starting this thread! I think we needed an antidote to all the sadness and negativity going on in the other one. I'll try and add a few things of my own. Ultimately, I always greatly encourage everyone I know to read A Tzadik in Our Time about Rav Aryeh Levin. He was such an immense baal rachamim and oheiv Yisroel. So many amazing stories in the sefer, I cry every time I read from it.

Shmoozinator

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 4:44 am

Also, I'm wondering if maybe it would be good to change the thread title? Yes it's a spin-off, but we want to encourage inspiring and meaningful stories and lessons!

amother

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 8:52 pm

Thank you! I wouldn’t change the thread title as it’s not just inspiring stories I’m looking for, rather stories and lessons that specifically heal the wrong messaging from the stories in the other thread.

Crookshanks

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 9:34 pm

A van of yeshiva bachurim were traveling out of town to their friend's wedding. Since it was out of town, not too many friends were going. It got later and later, and they realized that either they would be able to make the chuppah, or they would be able to catch a minchah minyan in a town along the way. They called their Rosh Yeshiva, R' Chaim Epstein. He told them that it was more important to get to the wedding on time than to daven with a minyan. One of the boys was a little disturbed by this, and got on the phone. He told R' Epstein that he had not missed a minyan in 10 years, since his bar mitzvah. R' Chaim responded, "Yiddishkeit is not about winning streaks. It's about doing ratzon Hashem, however that looks, at every moment."

This story still gives me chills.

PinkFridge

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 9:53 pm

Crookshanks wrote:

Rabbi Fishel Schachter has a whole shiur about this topic, including this story.

amother

Maize

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 10:01 pm

I love the story of maran ovadia yosef zt"l who was about to undergo a medical procedure
he stopped the doctors before they started since he wanted to finish a psak to an agunah waiting for her get it was very complicated case. Someone said chacham just do it after the surgery when you wake up. maran said something like "and if I dont wake up? I dont want to risk this agunah being chained longer than necessary"

he was a true gadol

amother

Maize

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 10:02 pm

When a nazi was beating the klausenberger rebbe bloody, he cried out shema and said "bechol levavcha ubechol nafshecha"

I highlighted those 4 words in my siddur. amidst such pain he was happy to serve hashem with his old body