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3 Sivan 5763 - June 3, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family


Yerusholayim of Yore
A Very Special Contract

by Sarah Mendelson
Taken from the Hebrew, Shomrei Hagechelet, by the author

Tzirl stood motionless in the dark street. She was holding her baby tightly in her arms. The infant looked at his mother with huge bewildered eyes, whimpering and crying. Hearing the baby's cries, Tzirl looked down at him and then around her, and realized she was not alone. Her husband, R' Tuvia, stood nearby in this dark alley. Though it was midday, darkness enveloped them. The Felsher family, R' Tuvia, Tzirl and their children, were now heading to the Kosel, and all along the long way, Tzirl felt this walk was not what she had expected. She felt an oppression settling on her...

The Felsher family had landed in the port of Jaffa only a few days before, and had been eager to reach Yerusholayim, wishing to see the Kosel, but they had not really known what to expect. Though they were prepared to find neglect and destruction, in their hearts they felt it must look holy. In the Diaspora, visitors who came back from Eretz Yisroel told about the poor living conditions of the Jews living in Yerusholayim, and about the roughness of the Arab neighbors, but in their darkest dreams they could not imagine so many dark streets and such narrow crowded alleys on the way to the holy Kosel.

Tzirl swallowed hard, cradled the crying baby, and, in this darkness tried to look at the faces of her family. She saw that her husband, R' Tuvia, stood looking at the surroundings. He seemed to recall all the years of his expectations to make aliya. The moment he was forcefully enlisted into the Russian army, he had vowed to make aliya and settle in Yerusholayim. As soon as he had, Boruch Hashem, returned safely home to his dear family, he started preparing for that goal, eager to fulfill his vow.

Now, as they walked down the dark, smelly, narrow, muddy and unpaved road, it seemed more like a bad dream, rather than a happy conclusion of his vow. This didn't meet his expectations of settling in the Holy City of Yerusholayim...

He was awakened from his reverie by the rough call of an Arab leading a loaded donkey up the narrow alley. Both Tzirl and Tuvia moved forward with great speed, trying to reach the Kosel as fast as possible. Their little children rushed along, and trying to keep up, were forced to run all the way with their speeding parents.

At last they reached the Kosel. Here, too, they could see the destruction immediately. The rows of large stones stared blankly in their faces, accusing them of a lack of appreciation. However, hard as they wished, Tzirl and R' Tuvia could not see in the large stones any of the beauty and magnificence of the holy Beis Hamikdosh, and could not imagine the Holy of Holies in this place...

Falling to the ground while tearing his garment, R' Tuvia started to pray fervently, reciting in a broken voice, "Shir Hamaalos, mimaamakim..." His voice was loud and tearful. The entire family recited along with him, and their tears flowed profusely, as they recalled the dark roads and their oppressive feelings and the rampant sacrilege.

Somehow, the cries and the recitation of the psalms brought about a change. New feelings flooded them, of wishes for redemption, and of expectations for a better future... They stood by the Kosel and felt that in this holy place they must now separate: the boys stayed on one side, the womenfolk walked to the other corner. Prayers and tears flowed freely down their cheeks, and with the mercy of Hashem, they were eventually freed of their earlier depression.

A while later, the Felsher family was reunited, and they headed back to the Hachnossas Orchim hostel, where they had left all their belongings. Soon they were fed, and later, the children rested. R' Tuvia and his wife Tzirl walked briskly to the house of the great and beloved Rov of Yerusholayim, Maran Hagaon Reb Shmuel Salant, who was noted for his great Talmudic knowledge, his righteousness and his wisdom. At his house, they met their friend R' Yona Tabbak.

R' Tuvia and his wife Tzirl had encountered R' Yona Tabbak on the boat coming to Eretz Yisroel. He had approached them and suggested a partnership deal of Yissochor and Zevulun, in which R' Tuvia would learn Torah, and R' Yona would support them financially, with both sharing equally in the rewards of the study.

Tzirl had voiced an objection, and it was decided to bring this halachic question to the Rov of Yerusholayim. Now both sides met in the rabbi's small abode. R' Yona explained his lack of abilty to sit all day and learn. He told his amazing story, "I grew up in Paris, in an irreligious family. Recently, I met the Gaon R' Yisroel Salanter, who came to reside in Paris. I learned from him to appreciate and value Torah study.

"He advised me to find a partner, and to make a `Yissochor- Zevulun' agreement, and so I headed to Eretz Yisroel, hoping to find such a partner.

"I met R' Tuvia on the boat, and I felt that he was the right one for the deal, but it seems that his wife objects to it..."

Tzirl explained that she felt it degrading to study Torah "just for the sake of money." In addition, she didn't want her husband to lose any of the value and rewards of his learning, and therefore she was opposed to the arrangement.

"Who said he was going to lose any of the credit or reward of his Torah study?" asked the Rov, rhetorically. "It is just like lighting candles: One candle can light many, and they all burn fully, while none of the candles lack any of the light. So it is with learning and a Yissochor-Zevulun arrangement. All sides benefit, and none loses anything. If you wish, you can add a clause in the contract, in which you state that your husband R' Tuvia, will get his full reward for his learning..."

A suitable contract was soon drawn, and another dear family settled in Yerusholayim to dedicate themselves to pure Torah study.

 

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