1.
Sunday evening, I'm about to enter for evening prayers at Givat Shaul in Jerusalem, but I linger a moment longer in the car. On the radio, I hear the first reports of the liberation celebrations of the boys from Cyprus, and at the same time the first reports of a chilling story: a Jew murdering a Jew in Ramla over a fight over a parking space.
Look, I'm not Stav Shaffir. I'm not saying that the country is burning. Thank God, there are many good things in the country and in the reality of our lives. But something about these two cases was simply shocking. On the one hand, these are extreme cases - after all, there are wonderful young men in the State of Israel - but on the other hand, it's impossible to say that the story in Cyprus came out of nowhere. Articles written in the past week by prominent secular educators show that this event represents perhaps even more than we would think.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
And as for Ramla, you don't need articles to understand that there is violence on the roads. Anyone who drives on Israeli roads sees that.
So, it's true, it's very rare for it to end in gunfire, but just last week, two more extremely serious cases of violence were reported due to a stupid argument on the road, which went as far as a driver being severely hit in the head with a helmet by an angry motorcyclist in Tel Aviv (on Mesilat Yesharim Street!) and a driver being stabbed with a Japanese knife in Kiryat Gat (on Orhot Tzaddikim Street! No, just like that. I don't remember which street).
As mentioned, the combination of these two stories in the same newscast simply depressed me. Perhaps something about the timing of the days between Egypt and the parallel to the moral decline of those days also added to the difficult feelings.
I'm not some tzaddik who says midnight correction and thinks about the exile of the Shekhinah. But really, where have we come to? When will we wake up? When will the upheaval come? Not the political one. The people of Israel have a much bigger vision than a strong right-wing bloc that defeats the left.
2.
Then suddenly someone knocked on the window next to me. At first I was scared. What happened? Did I block someone's parking space? I'm already moving, don't shoot! But he signaled me with a smile to open the window, and handed me a book whose cover was adorned with a large picture of Rabbi Aryeh Levin studying in front of an old stand.
''The Way of the Ancestral Fathers - Ways of Life in Light of the Character and Legacy of the Righteous Rabbi Aryeh Levin zt"l and his Family, Arranged on Tractate Avot'. It turns out that the man who knocked on my window, Rabbi Yechiel Sternberg, is the one who wrote the book, which was recently published. "The truth is that a few days ago I was looking for your address to send it to you, and suddenly I'm leaving the building here and I see you parked right in front of the entrance to my house.".
I congratulated him on the new book, congratulated him for saving me the wait in line for packages at the post office, and glanced, just glanced, at the book. After a few minutes, I realized I should stop right here and now and go pray the evening prayer, otherwise it would end with reading until the Amul Hashachar rises.
Entire generations have grown up on the image of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, thanks to Simcha Raz's mythological book, 'He Was a Righteous Man.' How many books can be called "mythological" like this one? How many books can be said that "no Jewish library is complete without him" like this one?
Perhaps that is why no other comprehensive books have been written about the revered figure of Rabbi Aryeh Levin (except for Raz's own sequel, 'Tzadik Yesod Olam'). And now, exactly 50 years after Rabbi Aryeh's passing, Sternberg, who had been busy publishing Rabbi Aryeh Levin's commentary on six Sedrei Mishnah, set out on a journey to follow his figure. He spent hundreds of hours with his family, digging through the archives, and discovering new and wonderful stories that had not yet been told about Rabbi Aryeh Levin.
My wife's leg hurts for us, the next generation.
3.
Well, tastings? The truth is, it was hard to choose. Everything is exciting and interesting and juicy and strengthening. And not only are there stories and anecdotes in the book, but also sayings by and about Rabbi Aryeh.
Perhaps we will begin with his immigration to the Land of Israel in the winter of 1905. When Rabbi Aryeh arrived in the Land of Israel, he kissed its soil and excitedly recited the verse from the Psalms, "For your servants have desired its stones and its clay, and they will be cleansed." On another occasion, he expressed the following idea: The Gemara on the last page of Tractate Ketubot relates that Rabbi Chiya bar Gamda rolled on the clay of the Land of Israel in order to fulfill what is said, "For your servants have desired its stones and its clay, and they will be cleansed.".
In his commentary there, Rashi repeated and copied the wording of the verse cited in the Gemara, without adding anything. He simply presented the verse as it is. Apparently, Rashi's intention, explained Rabbi Aryeh, was to teach us that it is not enough for a person to recite the verse, but rather one must feel this feeling for himself, that he loves the Land of Israel.
Before all the commentaries, Rashi actually tells us to stop and pay attention to the verse itself.
4.
Shortly after immigrating to Israel, Rabbi Aryeh married Tzipora Chana. The custom was that in the special room, the groom would give the bride a gift. Rabbi Aryeh was extremely poor. He told his bride that the gift he would give her was that he would never argue with her about financial matters, and that in any argument that arose, he would reach a compromise.
The young bride was moved and decided that she would also give the same gift back to the groom. The book presents an idea on behalf of the son of the bride and groom, Rabbi Simcha Shlomo: "In the law of property, the halacha is that a compromise can be made and even commands the judges to initiate a compromise, because in a compromise both parties to the dispute come out satisfied and at peace, as opposed to a ruling that decides in favor of one party.
""In contrast, in the rest of the Torah laws we do not mention the issue of compromise. On the contrary, one should scrutinize the halakha and not seek compromises, except in the mezuzah commandment: Rashi and Rabbenu Tam disagreed on whether the mezuzah should stand upright or lie down. The halakha ruled on a compromise between the method of Rashi and the method of Rabbenu Tam – to place the mezuzah diagonally.
""Why? Because the mezuzah is the protection of the home, and the Sages want to teach us that the home too should always be run in a manner of agreement and compromise between the parties.".
And more on matters of relationships: Before his wedding, a groom came to Rabbi Aharon Yaakovovich, the son-in-law of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, to invite him to the celebration and receive his blessing. He also expected to receive some good advice for his new life.
To his surprise, the rabbi gave him guidance that no marriage counselor had ever given: "Starting tomorrow," he told him, "you will begin, with God's help, to wrap yourself in a tallit. When you wrap yourself in a tallit, after the blessing, be careful not to hurt the person standing next to you in the synagogue with the tzitzit.".
5.
Rabbi Aryeh explained the saying of the Sages, "It is better to whiten one's teeth for one's friend than to drink milk for one's friend," as follows: Let us imagine that on the morning of Shavuot, when thousands leave the Western Wall after the Vetikin prayer and each one goes his own way, after a night of intensive study and long prayer - a benevolent man stands at the entrance with a large jug of milk and hands out a glass of chilled milk to every passerby (it seems to me that the parable should be updated to include a giant jug of iced coffee). After all, he did a great deed to the worshippers, and they will probably talk about his sublime deed in admiration on the street afterward, but after a short time the whole matter will be forgotten.
On the other hand, a person who is traveling on a bus, and when he gets on he is a little late, and the driver scolds him and publicly criticizes him for holding everyone up, his mood will drop dramatically and sometimes this may last all day. But if when he comes home the family members welcome him with a cheerful face and a smile, this welcome can immediately improve his mood and make him forget what happened before.
A glass of milk gives a person a momentary, forgettable pleasure. Improving the feeling, on the other hand, is a condition that can last over time. Therefore, it is good for the person who whitens their teeth to drink milk.
6.
And while we're at it, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Neriah, son of Rabbi Moshe Zvi Neriah, said: "Shortly after the Six-Day War, I arrived at the Western Wall early in the morning. There I met Rabbi Aryeh Levin zt"l. I pointed to the Wall and said to him: 'If God could give us such a great thing, even though we don't deserve it, then He can give us even more...'.
Rabbi Aryeh replied: "Don't say we are not entitled. The individual can say about himself that he is not entitled, but regarding the whole, we must know that we cannot at all assess the rights of all of Israel.".
7.
""Do you think Rabbi Aryeh was always soft as a reed? Of course not," said Rabbi Dov Yaffe, explaining: "We have accepted that whoever does not know how to say 'no' to his friend when necessary, does not know how to say 'no' to his evil inclination either. Whereas Rabbi Aryeh knew very well how to say 'no' to his own inclination!" In other words, Rabbi Aryeh Levin was not just a good grandfather with a white beard who just caresses and hands out candy on the streets of Jerusalem. He knew how to educate, to put people in their place, to stand on principles.
Here's an example: Everyone tells the famous story over and over again about the man who was walking down the street with his head uncovered, and suddenly Rabbi Aryeh came across him. He felt uncomfortable, and Rabbi Aryeh calmed him down, saying, "I am a short man. I only see up to the level of my heart and don't look at what's on my head.".
The book contains another story related to the kippah, from which we can learn that when it was necessary, Rabbi Aryeh also responded differently, depending on the head that was exposed: "Once Rabbi Aryeh was invited to Tel Aviv to serve as godfather at the circumcision ceremony of one of the leaders of the underground. During the event, he noticed one of the attendees who had grown up in a religious home and lifted the burden of mitzvot from him. Rabbi Aryeh asked his son, Rabbi Simcha Shlomo, to call him.
""That man was looking for a kippah to put on his head and approached the rabbi. Rabbi Aryeh rebuked him: 'Do you know how much your father sacrificed his life to come to you every Sabbath, when you were in prison? How dare you desecrate the Sabbath and act against everything your father taught you?!' Thus he rebuked him. The words of morality penetrated his heart and he finally repented and established a religious house. One of his sons even became a dayan.".
And another scoop: Anyone who thinks that Rabbi Aryeh Levin was born Rabbi Aryeh Levin should read the following quote: "In a moment of frankness, Rabbi Aryeh once told his grandson Rabbi David Levin that he had worked hard for many years on every measure of his. 'Nothing comes easily to me,' he added.".
8.
The book contains not only hundreds of such stories, but also an entire section of articles, letters, and sermons written by Rabbi Aryeh (such as his correspondence with Menachem Begin and Abba Achimeir, or the eulogy he delivered for Rabbi Kook).
But we will end with the eulogy that was written about him. This is what the writer Rabbi David Zaritsky wrote about Rabbi Aryeh, after his passing: "For the first time, the righteous Rabbi Rabbi Aryeh Levin zt"l passed away. Because during all his years, or most of his years on earth, he went specifically to the worlds of others. He did not know his own private world, it seems to me. His world was reduced to the crumbs that remained to him, after he had given everything to others.".
• The column is published in the newspaper 'Bisheva'.'
