Praying For Your Life
The man was about to wander off when Rabbi Abba ran after him and recounted everything he had witnessed. Rabbi Abba asked the man, "My friend to what do you attribute all these...
The Disappearing Shofar
The Rebbe of Rozhyn repeated something he overheard from the Rabbi of Apt (the Holy Apter) who proclaimed: the Shofar he would blow with on Rosh Hashanah would be the same Shofar the Messiah would blow…when the great morning would come. After the death of the Apter this Shofar mysteriously disappeared.
In the name of Chortkover, Nachlei Binah P318-319
#636 Imrei Tov Parsha Ki Tisa
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The Power of Forgiveness: A Zohar Legend
Rabbi Abba (the scribe of the Zohar) once sat at the gateway of the Town of Lud.
He saw a traveler sit down on a pile of rocks at the edge of a mountain overlooking a cliff. The man was exhausted from his journey and immediately fell asleep. Rabbi Abba watched this innocuous scene for a bit until to his dismay he watched as a deadly snake slithered out of the rocks making its way towards to the sleeping man.
[Rabbi Abba, who for some reason was immobilized and transfixed by this unfolding drama,] suddenly watched as a new turn of events happened. A giant lizard jumped out between the rocks and killed the serpent.
Rabbi Abba continued watching and saw that the man stood up and was perplexed to see a beheaded snake lying in front of him. He quickly gathered his possessions and rose to continue his journey. At that instant the pile of rocks he was sitting on collapsed and fell into the ravine below.
The man was about to wander off when Rabbi Abba ran after him and recounted everything he had witnessed. Rabbi Abba asked the man, “My friend to what do you attribute all these miracles that just transpired?”
The traveler at first did not want to bothered but felt the sincerity of Rabbi Abba’s question and confided in him.
“Throughout my life I have never let a person harm me, and where I did not pacify him. Never have I gone to sleep without forgiving someone for hurting me in any way. Anyone who would hurt me would I endeavor, with all my heart, to resolve whatever animosity was between us. And lastly, I would turn the hateful situation to doing acts of kindness for the person involved in the misunderstanding.”
When Rabbi Abba heard this he burst into tears. This person’s actions were greater than that of Yosef (Joseph). For Yosef had to deal with his brothers; of course he was going to forgive his brothers. But this man forgives anyone and everyone who has harmed him. It is no surprise that God performs miracles on a daily basis for this blessed man.
Maasiyot HaZohar Vol. 1 P.169 Miketz P. 201B
After the long and ecstatic prayers of Rosh Hashanah, Rebbe Yehudah Tzvi of Stretyn turned to his followers and said, “When Chanukah comes, during the lighting of the fifth candle if you will remind me at that moment, I will prepare a banquet for everyone!”
The Chassidim wondered, “What is the connection between Rosh Hashanah and Chanukah?” And others thought, “Why a banquet only on the fifth night? Why not every night!?”
The fifth night of Chanukah came and the Chassidim reminded their rebbe of the promise he had made on Rosh Hashanah. His face lit up and he immediately ordered a banquet prepared for all the guests. After many L’chaim‘s were offered someone stood up courageously and asked, “Rebbe, why the banquet?”
The Rebbe started to speak quietly, “During the sacred prayers of Rosh Hashanah, I saw that a tzaddik of our generation would be appointed one of the judges of the heavenly court. I knew there were three possibilities. Either myself, the Rebbe of Butzchatch, or the Holy Rebbe, Rebbe Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov (The Dinover). I prayed with all my heart that I wasn’t worthy to be a judge of the heavenly court. It wasn’t clear to me what the heavenly decision would be until this moment. For as you all know, Chanukah is the final seal of whatever happened on Rosh Hashanah. Now I know that I wouldn’t be chosen, and for that reason I am making this banquet.”
The Chassidim were awestruck by this revelation. Soon thereafter the news spread that the Holy Dinover had been chosen to be a judge of the heavenly court. He passed away on the 18th of Tevet.
Degel Machaneh Yehudah p. 12 #32
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From the Depths of the Heart
One time a Jewish peasant boy came to the big town to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. He didn’t know how to pray. He could not even read the letter Alef. He only saw that everyone was traveling to the synagogues to participate in the holy prayers. He thought, “If everybody is going to town I must go too!”
He arrived at the town synagogue with his father and watched the congregants crying and singing together swaying to and fro. He turned to his father and asked, “Father, what is this all about?”
His father turned to him and said, “The Holy One blessed be sits enthroned in the heavens and we pray all year long to Him. We especially pray during these two days of Rosh Hashanah when the whole world is being judged and each person is being judged for the rest of the year.”
The son responded, “Father, what am I to do since I do not know how to pray?”
His father quickly said to him condescendingly, “All you have to do is be quiet and listen to the other Jews praying. That is enough for you.”
“But Father, if I don’t know what these people are saying how is that going to effect God’s decision? How is being silent going to help me?”
His father became unnerved and blurted out, “Listen, you should be quiet so no one will know you’re an ignorant peasant!”
The son stood still for a couple of minutes as his father and the rest of the congregation continued praying and then – the young boy stood up and spoke loudly.
“I am going to pray to God in the way I know best. I will whistle to God as I whistle to my flock of sheep.”
He began whistling the sweet calling as most shepherds know. His father was enraged. The boy continued whistling with all his might not caring what other people thought.
Now, it happened to be, that this particular Rosh Hashanah, all the heavenly gates were shut and suddenly because of this pure whistling of the heart, all the gates burst open. The prayers of Israel were finally heard.
Nachlei Binah P. 317 #632 Tehillim Ben Beiti, Rabbi Eliezer of Komarno
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