26 Mar TZAV: BE HAPPY AFTER PURIM, TOO

In Krakow, there was a
Jew known as “the
Krakover Shikur.” He
loved Chodesh Adar,
and he would get
drunk every day of
Adar. He explained that
Haman the rasha wanted
to kill all the Yidden in
one day. Why didn’t he
spread out the genocide
over many days, so he
would have a better
chance to succeed? Why
did he limit himself to
one day? What if some
Yidden went into hiding
on that day? The gorel fell on the month of
Adar, and he should have decreed that the
entire month of Adar is the time for his “final
solution” rachmana litzlan. The answer is that
Haman knew that if he failed and the Jewish
nation survived, they would turn this day into
a yom tov. Haman didn’t want the Jewish
nation to celebrate an entire month therefore
he concentrated his efforts to destroy them in
one day.
The Krakover Shikur concluded, “Should we
allow Haman to have his way? Certainly not!
We should be happy the entire month!”
Rebbe Avraham of Sochotchov zt’l praised
this vort. Indeed, we should be happy
throughout the entire month of Adar.
During the Holocaust, Rebbe Mordechai of

Bulguray zy”a (brother of Rebbe Aharon of
Belz zy”a) once saw Gerer chassidim dancing
joyously. He looked on in amazement at these
chassidim who could be happy at a time like
this. One of the chassidim tapped him on the
shoulder and said, “Hashem wants something
from us. Let’s give it to Him with joy.”
Reb Gad’l Eisner related, “During the
Holocaust, a friend of mine was beaten cruelly
by a Nazi; he was bleeding and needed medical
treatment. I tried to raise his spirits. I said,
‘What’s all this crying about?’
He told me that he wanted to die.
Reb Gad’l replied (in black humor), “Make it a
quick death.”
My friend said, “The Ribono Shel Olam knows
that I want to die.”
“If you remember the Ribono shel Olam,
everything is well because He wants you to
live,” Reb Gad’l replied.
‘But how can I live like this?”
Reb Gad’l spoke to him until his desire to live
returned. Soon a doctor arrived and healed
him. If he had lost interest in living, he
wouldn’t have survived until the doctor came.
His ability to find joy and hope in this difficult
time granted him life.
Reb Nachum Yasser zt’l’s only daughter was
hospitalized in Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, and
the renowned Doctor Wallach grimly told Reb
Nachum that she wouldn’t survive. “She has a
few more hours to live.”
It was Friday morning. Reb Nachum realized
that if his daughter died, lo aleinu, he wouldn’t

be permitted to go to the mikvah (because of
the laws of aveilius). So, he first went to the
mikvah, l’kvod Shabbos.
Then, he studied in Shulchan Aruch the laws
of kriyah (ripping one’s garment) and of onein,
so he wouldn’t err in the halachos. He was a
talmid chacham (when he lived in Jasi,
Romania, Reb Nachum Yasser was the rav)
and prepared for the situation he understood
was soon approaching.
He set out to the hospital with his friend, Reb
Nota Zehnwirth zt’l. (Reb Nota told this story
afterward, which is how we know it). While
they were walking, Reb Nachum remembered
that he needed a knife for kriyah, so he returned
home to get a knife, then they continued to the
hospital.
Reb Nachum said, “Chazal say that when one
recites the brachah, “Baruch Dayan Ha’Emes”
one should say it with joy because we believe
that everything is for the good. And then Reb
Nachum began to dance with Reb Nota! He
said, “Hashem is speaking to me. He is
communicating with me. (Each situation in
life – the good and the hard – is Hashem
communicating with people, telling them to
repent, or some other message.) Hashem cares
about me, and this is the greatest joy!” And
they danced some more.
When they arrived at the hospital, Reb Nachum
said, “Now I must contain myself. My wife
will have tzaar if she sees me happy.”
When they entered the hospital, Dr. Wallach
ran towards them. ‘Reb Nachum, it’s a miracle!

Your daughter is out of danger. She’s
conscious.”
Reb Nachum turned to Reb Nota and said,
“Now I can show my happiness to my wife.”
He met up with his wife, and they rejoiced
with their daughter’s recovery.
Sometime later, Reb Nachum said to Reb
Nota, “I will explain to you what happened.
The hardships of life are a test to see whether
people believe in Hashem even in dire times. I
passed this test while my daughter was still
alive, so there was no need for me to be tested
with her death.”
The Chidushei HaRim zy”a was, rachmanah
litzlan, sitting shivah for one of his children.
He kept all the halachos but appeared calm.
His wife, who was weeping copiously, asked
him, “Did you just bury a chicken?”
He answered, “Heaven gives us the peckel
(troubles and castigations) but the feelings of
sorrow and depression aren’t given by
Hashem. This a person brings on by himself.”
May Hashem save us from all tzaar but these
stories remind us that no matter the situation, it
is always possible and advisable to be
optimistic.