Parshas Tazriah-Metzorah 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Apr 17
- 4 min read
אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר ... וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו וגו' (יב-ב,ג)
The words of Chazal are inviolable. Every Torah-Jew knows that we cannot live our daily lives without following the words of our rabbinic traditions. The mitzvah of bris milah is a Torah commandment, however, every detail of the mitzvah - how it is performed, what is removed, how to handle illness, Shabbos, or premature infants - derives entirely from Chazal. Just as the laws of nega’im in Parshas Tazria are impossible to understand without Torah Sheb’al Peh (Oral Law), bris milah itself can only exist through the mesorah of Chazal whose rulings define the mitzvah in practice and cannot be set aside.
Many people will say that the words of Chazal are sacred, however, R’ Dovid Feinstein zt”l saw every single word of Chazal as living reality, and the way he responded to shailos and questions that were asked of him often reflected that. To him, it was a reality that Chodesh Adar is a time of mazel for court cases or business deals, because Chazal say that it is. Likewise, a person who recites Havdalah over a cup of wine will in fact have baby boys. Chazal said so (Shevuos 18b).
A talmid in his yeshivah had the merit of attending the mashgiach, R’ Michel Barenbaum zt”l, and at times, he had to miss seder or shiur in order to drive the mashgiach home. He asked Reb Dovid if he should find someone else to help the mashgiach during times meant for learning. Reb Dovid encouraged him to cherish the zechus he had been given, quoting the words of Chazal: “Gedolah shimushah yoser milimudah, Greater is the service of Torah than the learning of Torah.”
“I don’t know exactly what this means,” Reb Dovid said, “but if Chazal say that this is the reality, then it is the reality. Maybe it means there is special beracha in the learning you do if you are also meshamesh talmidei chachamim, if you serve, honor and attend to the needs of Torah scholars - but one thing I can tell you - you will certainly not lose out!”
On another occasion, someone came to honor him to serve as sandek at their son’s bris, and they made a joke referencing the well-known dictum that being sandek is a segulah for ashirus, wealth. Quoted by the Rema (Yoreh Deah 265:11), the Maharil, a leading German halachic authority in the early 13th century and authority on Ashkenazic minhagim, writes that a sandek is compared to the Kohen who brought ketores, which is considered a segulah for wealth according to Chazal.
Reb Dovid told him a story. Several years earlier, the yeshivah secretary told the Rosh Yeshivah that a certain Mrs. Klein had called the yeshivah office several times, looking for him. Reb Dovid returned the call and Mrs. Klein asked if he was David Feinstein, the son of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l, the renowned Orthodox rabbi. He said that he was.
She explained her sad situation. Her only daughter had given birth to a baby boy, but the daughter and her husband were not religious and had no interest in arranging a bris milah for the child. On the other hand, she was religious, and when she protested, they told her that if she wanted to take care of the bris they would not object.
Mrs. Klein said would be making a bris in her home in Long Island and she did not have anyone to honor as sandek. She had heard about Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, and learned that he had a son who had taken over the yeshivah. She had looked up the number in the phone book, and now wanted to invite him to come serve as sandek at the bris of her grandson.
Reb Dovid accepted, and on the day of the bris, he traveled to Long Island. There was a sparse crowd on hand, and he did not know any of the people there, but when Mrs. Klein asked him to stay for the seudah, he agreed. She asked him to share a few words, and again, he agreed. When it was over, he wished the family well and returned to the Lower East Side.
Several years passed, and one day, Reb Dovid received a phone call from a lawyer he didn’t know. Once Reb Dovid identified himself, the lawyer informed him that he had been named as a beneficiary in the will of Mrs. Klein in Long Island, who had passed away and left $100,000 to Rabbi David Feinstein. Reb Dovid smiled as he completed the story. “I did not accept the money for myself, giving it to the yeshivah, but the point is, if the Maharil says that sandaka’us is a segulah for ashirus, then it means precisely that, whether we see it or not. It’s a reality.” (Excerpted from “Reb Dovid” by Yisroel Besser, Artscroll)