Israel Matzav

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach on how to visit the graves of the righteous

A well-known story involving Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (1910-95) zt"l (May the Memory of the Righteous be a Blessing), which bears repeating and which is relevant to the day.

A student in the Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem, approached his Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l and asked him the question: May I leave my Torah studies in the yeshiva to go and pray at the graves of tzadikim in the Galil, the north?

Rav Auerbach answered, “It is better to say in yeshiva, and study Torah”

The student replied, “Isn’t there a time I could go to visit the graves of tzadikim? Doesn’t Rav Auerbach go and pray at the graves of tzadikim?

Rav Auerbach answered, “In order to pray at the graves of tzadikim, one doesn’t have to travel up to the Galil. Whenever I feel the need to pray at the graves of tzadikim, I go to Mount Herzl, [the national cemetery for fallen IDF soldiers in Jerusalem], to the graves of the soldiers…who fell “Al Kiddush Hashem” for the sanctification of God.

Shared by R' Yisrael Meir Lau.

For those who don't know Jerusalem, the Mount Herzl military cemetery is about a ten-minute walk from the Kol Torah yeshiva.

Labels: Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Yom HaZikaron

Monday, May 05, 2014

An amazing story for Remembrance Day

Sharing a story I just saw on Dosim, a Hebrew site I follow on Facebook.

There was a boy in Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's yeshiva who said he wanted to travel abroad to visit the graves of the righteous.

Rav Shlomo Zalman asked him why abroad? Had he visited all the graves of the righteous in Israel.

The boy said that he wanted to visit the graves of the righteous because it inspired him to excel in his studies.

Rav Shlomo Zalman invited the boy to go for a walk and took him to Har Herzl, the military cemetery just a few minutes from the yeshiva. The boy did not understand why Rav Shlomo Zalman was taking him there.
"Here." said Rav Shlolmo Zalman, "are the righteous."

Labels: IDF, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Yom HaZikaron