S/o Most disturbing story or lesson

amother

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:19 pm

Would love to hear stories that repair the damage of the disturbing ones.

I’ll start:
When R Shlomo Zalman said, “why go daven at Kivrei Tzaddikim when you have the graves of the Israeli soldiers to daven by closer?” (Most of these soldiers weren’t religious).

Also:
When an old Holocaust survivor lady hugged R Moshe and when someone protested, he said, “don’t bother her, she’s a Holocaust survivor.”

And:
How the Steipler told someone with OCD he doesn’t have to keep any of the mitzvos.

amother

Hunter

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:22 pm

Why go daven by kivrei tzaddikim or the kotel when you can daven from the comfort of your own home. This has been so helpful to me.

Also, you can be angry at Hashem. He can handle your strong feelings.

amother

Hunter

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:36 pm

[quote="amother OP"]Would love to hear stories that repair the damage of the disturbing ones.

I’ll start:
When R Shlomo Zalman said, “why go daven at Kivrei Tzaddikim when you have the graves of the Israeli soldiers to daven by closer?” (Most of these soldiers weren’t religious).

Also:
When an old Holocaust survivor lady hugged R Moshe and when someone protested, he said, “don’t bother her, she’s a Holocaust survivor.”

And:
How the Steipler told someone with OCD he doesn’t have to keep any of the mitzvos.[/quote]

ANY of the mitzvos? No kosher? No maaser? No pesach? Hard to believe.

He can steal? Kill? Embarrass someone? Speak LH?

amother

DarkMagenta

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:39 pm

[quote="amother Hunter"]

amother OP wrote:

No, it obviously doesn't mean that he can kill or steal.
It means that they don't need to keep halachos which ultimately end up making OCD more debilitating. (Basic halacha like davening, tefillin, handwashing, brachos, kashrus.....) OCD can really make a person go crazy.

Goody2shoes

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:45 pm

I love the story of Rabbi Dr A.J. Twersky(correct me if I'm wrong and it wasn't him) who pretended to be Amish on the airplane when a women yelled at him for dressing the way he does and making non Jews hate us.

amother

Steel

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:47 pm

Quote:

amother Hunter

ANY of the mitzvos? No kosher? No maaser? No pesach? Hard to believe.

He can steal? Kill? Embarrass someone? Speak LH?

There is keeping and there is transgressing.
They are not one and the same.

Java

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:48 pm

I always love stories of great gedolim/rabbanim who showed tremendous respect/kavod for their wives (imo way way greater than the ones who were totally cut off from the world and just learned 24/7 witht their wives taking care of them)

Goody2shoes

Tue, Sep 06 2022, 11:50 pm

Java wrote:

Yeah! Like the one who went with his rebetzin to the doctor and said- Dr our foot is hurting us.

Last edited by Goody2shoes on Wed, Sep 07 2022, 12:13 am; edited 1 time in total

nightingale1

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 12:14 am

Someone told me that R’Moshe once went to visit someone and he was doing something R’Moshe disagreed with. He asked the person about it and the person said his rav allowed it (his rav was not a very well known rav). R’Moshe told him “Good. In this case, when there’s a machlokes, you’re supposed to be meikel. There’s a machlokes between your rav and me, so you’re doing the right thing”. He had no problem being put on the same level as a simple rav of a small shul. And also no problem telling someone to be meikel even when he held to be machmir. (I think the halacha had something to do with hilchos aveilus but I’m not sure)

amother

Cyan

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 12:20 am

someone who witnessed this story told me he went to visit R’Pam and was waiting downstairs when he heard a couple coming down. They were arguing and he heard some pretty embarrassing details. The Rebbetzin grabbed him and pushed him, yes physically pushed him, into a different room so he wouldn’t see them. She didn’t want to embarrass the couple, and pushing someone is definitely not derech chiba! I feel like this story shows the importance of not embarrassing someone, to the point where the Rebbetzin would even touch a man. Priorities. I feel like most of us would probably “err on the side of caution” and not touch a man, but that mindset is really mistaken! When it comes to peoples feelings, you should be machmir!

#BestBubby

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 12:24 am

alwayssmiling wrote:

Yeah! Like the one who went with his rebetzin to the doctor and said- Dr our foot is hurting us.

Beautiful story. It was Rabbi Aryeh Levin, Zt"l.

amother

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 12:50 am

These aren’t stories but quotes/teachings that attempt to undo some of the damage of the disturbing ones:

R Wolbe said “Frumkeit has nothing to do with Yiddishkeit”

The Ramchal said that if one lives their life with emunah, after they die their soul will have emunah that they won’t go to Gehenom and in that zchus they’ll be saved from Gehenom.

NotInNJMommy

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 7:29 am

A young man from a chaseedishe family went off the derech Big time. The father wanted nothing to do with him. He’d secretly ride his motorcycle over to visit with his mother while his father was out. When he married a non frum (but bh Jewish) woman, none of his family came to the wedding except his mother, who graciously and lovingly welcomed her new daughter. She showed she accepted her son and daughter in law for who they are and asked her daughter in law if she would please keep one mitzvah—TH (and briefly explained it). With the son’s passionate and welcoming agreement, they did even though they kept no other typical outwardly frum mitzvos (Ie kosher or shabbos) and they traveled a lot making mikvah even more difficult.

Ultimately, the couple built a frum Torah home and family. All because imho his mother kept a loving relationship with him and didn’t turn him away.

(I heard this story from someone who knew of it firsthand)

amother

Winterberry

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 5:36 pm

When I was a teen I loved to go to shul with my father on Shabbos morning. Once we were in Ramot and he had the opportunity to walk Rav Asher Weiss to shul. I was there and awkwardly hung behind. Rav Weiss gestured for me to walk alongside and made me feel included.

PinkFridge

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 5:46 pm

alwayssmiling wrote:

I think it might have been his brother Dr. Aaron Twerski, sheyichye.

PinkFridge

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 5:48 pm

I didn't read the other thread but this is a great place for a story about a Chazon Ish shiur. Of ahavas Yisrael. I saw it in the Yated more than once.
Someone complained to the Chazon Ish, zt"l, about an orphanage he walked by, that the girls sang zemiros loud enough to be hear on street level.
The Chazon Ish's face lit up. "These poor girls who lost their families in the war. I worried about them. But I'm so happy to hear that they have enough joy to be able to sing on Shabbos. Thank you for sharing this good news."
Or something like that.

amother

Moccasin

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 5:53 pm

I was in the hospital, having donated an organ. My organ recipient's Rebbe and rosh yeshiva came to visit him in the hospital. The rosh yeshiva was an elderly man, surrounded by helpers and followers, a little flock of bearded, Messed men. They came to my icu room and asked my husband if they could visit me too. My husband said that I would love visitors, but warned them that my hair was uncovered because I'd been getting headaches. The Rebbe said 'Of course! She's a choleh!' The flock of rebbeim came into my room, looked me in the eye, gave me beautiful brachos for a refuah shelayma, and left. Really restored my faith in the humanity, the normalcy, of our leaders.

kineret

Wed, Sep 07 2022, 6:50 pm

amother Moccasin wrote:

Wow this story is awesome! Thanks for sharing