Stories Of Greatness

Our Sages tell us that the name of an individual reflects his inner character and essence. It is what connects him to his spiritual nature, serving as the conduit that provides sustenance and nourishment to his soul. Therefore, the naming of a baby is a serious undertaking that involves great responsibility.

The following story is related by Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser shlit’a and illustrates how a Jew can merit unique Divine intervention if he or she stands up for what is right. The story took place in Eretz Yisroel and is about a poor bride named Rena who could not afford her own wedding gown and needed to resort to procuring one from a free-loan gemach organization. She did her research and found such an organization that had just what she was looking for. The problem was that it was in a distant city, and she would have to travel there if she wanted the gown.

It was Friday afternoon, and the Jewish residents of Pressburg, Czechoslovakia, were winding down their Shabbos preparations. The food was cooked, the children bathed, and it was now time for the men to begin heading out to the great synagogue for the special Friday night prayers. As the great Rav of Pressburg, R’ Moshe Sofer ZT”L (Chasam Sofer), put on his rabbinic coat and stepped through the doorway of his home, he instinctively placed his right hand on the mezuzah to kiss it, as he was careful to do whenever he walked through a door.

How does one become a real baal teshuvah? What is true repentance? Chazal tell us there are numerous ways to repent, but usually, in each instance, it requires an awakening in a person’s soul, which allows him to see the folly of his ways and thereby repent. The question is: How does one achieve that “awakening”? There are a number of ways....

Reb Shmuel Strauss, a great-grandson of the Baal Shem of Michelstadt, lived in Karlsruhe, Germany, and managed a small bank that his father-in-law had founded. From the start, it was evident that Reb Shmuel possessed unrivaled business acumen. As a man of integrity, many entrusted their entire savings to him, enabling him to support his family in comfort.

The Yamim Noraim tefilos in the Chevron Yeshivah in Jerusalem were always a rousing experience. Opening the beis medrash door on Rosh HaShanah felt as though one were standing on the brink of a fiery furnace. The Shemoneh Esrei sounded just the way it is described in the Shulchan Aruch: not spoken aloud, but rather in a hum, trembling and prolonged. Krias HaTorah was unhurried and articulate, and the shmuess before shofar blowing, given by the Rosh Yeshivah, R’ Yechezkel Sarna ZT”L, was awe-inspiring, leaving the tzibbur with an almost palpable wave of fear and trembling.