06 Jan SHEMOS: THE CURE IS PREPARED BEFORE THE WOUND

Hashem told Moshe
to tell the nation
(3:16) Pakod Pakadti Eschem, “I have
surely remembered you…” Rashi (3:18)
writes, “As soon as you say this phrase
[Pakod Pakadti] to them, they will hearken
to your voice, for this code was transmitted
to them from Yaakov and Yosef, that with
this phrase they will be redeemed…”
The Shlah teaches that pakod are the letters
before tzarah, to show that “Hakadosh
Baruch Hu prepares the refuah before the
makah. The cure is ready and in place even
before the trouble arrives.
The following story happened in the days
of Reb Shlomo Kluger zt’l:
A city governor held a meeting with
the heads of the Jewish community. He
explained to them that an army unit was
planning to be in their city for some days,
and every homeowner must take in two
soldiers, feed them, and give them a place
to sleep.
This news was taken to be a great tragedy
for the Jewish community. Firstly, there
were many poor people in the city.
They could hardly support themselves.
How could they support two soldiers?
Furthermore, the bigger problem was a
spiritual one. The soldiers were lowly
goyim. It was viewed as a spiritual danger
for the young Jewish children to have the
soldiers around the home.
Some of the people of this city were
chasidim of a certain tzaddik. They sent
a delegation to this tzaddik to ask him to
daven for them to be spared from this new
decree.
The messengers stood before the tzaddik,
and amidst tears, they expressed their
great tzaar and worry.
The Rebbe replied that he needed a large
sum of money for pidyon shvuyim (to
save someone from jail). The Rambam
(Matanos Aniyim 8:10) writes that saving
someone from jail is of the greatest
mitzvos. If the people of the city raise the
money for this mitzvah, the tzaddik said,
in this merit, they will have a salvation.
The messengers returned to their city and
began knocking on people’s doors, asking
them for money for pidyon shvuyim. They
told the people of the town that the tzaddik
said that this mitzvah will save them from
the decree of the soldiers.
The chasidim who lived in this city
believed in the greatness of this tzaddik

and they donated generously. Those who
weren’t chasidim, however, were skeptical.
They weren’t convinced that this donation
would bring them their salvation.
The people collecting the money told them,
“If soldiers come to your home, it will
anyway cost you a lot of money because
you will have to feed them. Isn’t it better
to give the money for a mitzvah of pidyon
shvuyim rather than to give money to the
soldiers? And this that you are worried that
the salvation won’t occur even after you
perform this mitzvah, we promise you that
if the tzaddik’s salvation doesn’t occur,
chalilah, we will return the money that you
donated.” This convinced them, and they
donated generously towards the cause.
When the sum was raised, the messengers
went to the tzaddik and gave him the
money. The tzaddik redeemed the person
from jail, and he blessed the messengers
and the people of the city that in the merit
of this mitzvah, they should be saved from
all their enemies.
The salvation came. A few days later, the
governor of the city received a letter from
the king’s palace stating that the heads of
the army changed their plan. The soldiers
won’t be passing through their city. The
governor immediately relayed the news to
the Jewish heads of the city. “You won’t
be bothered by the soldiers. They won’t be
passing through our city.” Everyone in the
city rejoiced.
The chasidim were discussing the great
miracle their Rebbe performed. But the
non-chasidim said, “We studied the letter
well. The letter was written before the
tzaddik received the money for pidyon
shvuyim! The army changed their mind
before the Rebbe gave his brachah!” They
said that the chasidim must return the
money to them. They only gave the money
if the tzaddik would annul the gezeirah,
but as it turned out, they didn’t need the
Rebbe’s brachos to annul the gezeirah.
The Chasidim responded that the salvation
was undoubtedly due to the tzaddik’s
merit, and they claimed they didn’t have
to return the money.
The din Torah was brought before Reb
Shlomo Kluger. Those who weren’t
chasidim said they wanted the psak to
be according to halachah, without any
compromises, and they wanted to know
the reason behind Reb Shlomo Kluger’s
ruling.
Reb Shlomo Kluger said that he would
need to think it over and answer them in
the morning.

In the morning, he told them that the
chassidim were correct. The miracle
occurred in the Rebbe’s merit, and
therefore, they don’t have to give back
the money. He proved this from the navi
Shmuel. It states that the aron was in the
home of Oved-Edom for three months.
It states there (pasuk 12)
“And it was told to King
Dovid saying, ‘Hashem
has blessed the house of
Oved-Edom, and all that
belongs to him, because of
the aron of Hashem.”
Chazal (Brachos 63:) say,
“What brachah did he
receive? His wife and his
eight daughters in-law
each had six children in
one birth.” This blessing
and miracle occurred when
the aron Elokim was still
in Oved-Edom’s home.
The aron Elokim was
Oved-Edom’s home for three months
only. A child is born after nine months
of pregnancy, or occasionally after seven
months, but never after three months. So, it
is certain that the miraculous pregnancies
of six children in one birth began even
before Oved-Edom had the aron in his
home. We see that Hashem prepares the
reward for the good that one will do in the
future.
Reb Shlomo Kluger said that the same
occurred with their salvation when the
army decided that they wouldn’t pass
through their village.
I will tell another story related to this
subject, which happened with my father
and my grandfather zy’a. My grandfather,
Rebbe Moshe Mordechai of Lelov, would
spend the Nine Days specifically in
Yerushalayim. On the night of Tisha b’Av,
his custom was to look, from a distance,
at the place where the Beis HaMikdash
once stood. One year my father went with
his father Rebbe Moshe Mordechai to the
Beis Avraham Yeshiva (Slonim), because
in those days, one could see the place of
the Beis HaMikdash, from the roof of the
yeshiva. When they arrived, it was already
very late at night. All the bachurim of the
yeshiva were sleeping by then. My father
met one of the chashuve bachurim of the
yeshiva, the Gaon Reb Avraham Rubin
Shlita. My father said to Reb Avraham
Rubin that his father, the Lelover Rebbe,
was with him, and that his father’s custom
was to gaze at the place of the Beis
HaMikdash on this night, and they needed
the key to the roof.

Reb Rubin replied
that he doesn’t have
the key, and since
all the bachurim are
sleeping, he has no
way of getting the
key.

For my father, kibud av ve’em was
paramount, and he didn’t want to take “no”
for an answer. But Reb Rubin repeated
that there was nothing he could do, since
everyone was sleeping.
Just then, a bachur came out of one of
the rooms. My father immediately asked
him whether he had the key to the roof.
He did. He explained that the bachur who
generally has the key wasn’t in the yeshiva
for a few days. Before he left the yeshiva,
a few days earlier, this bachur emptied out
his pockets. One of the items was a key.
He gave the key to the bachur (whom
they met now in the middle of the night),
together with some other objects, and
asked him to hold onto these items until
he returned
The bachur added that he couldn’t fall
asleep. He was turning from side to side,
and just then, he decided to come out of
his room.
The hashgachah of this story is amazing
and startling. Hakadosh Baruch Hu
prepared the needs for this tzaddik (and
the same can occur with every Yid) so
he can perform his custom. A few days
earlier, before the Rebbe needed the key,
the bachur in charge gave it to this bachur,
who was still awake late at night. Hashem
prepared the refuah before the makah.
Salvation is always ready long before it is
actually needed.
Hashem wants us to daven from the depths
of our hearts, and when we do so, the
salvation that was prepared beforehand
will be revealed.