The Nine Days preceding Tish’ah B’Av are a time of introspection with a focus on healing divisions among Jews as we mourn the loss of the Beis HaMikdash. Last Sunday, Rabbi Yaakov Rahimi spoke at the House of Torah in West Hempstead in a lecture organized by Chazaq.
Raised in Deal, New Jersey, he learned for many years at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, emerging as a gifted lecturer and storyteller. He is also a contributor to Mishnah Berurah Tiferet, a collection of Sephardic poskim interpreting the Mishnah B’rurah.
More than 600 days passed since Hamas took hostages into Gaza, and Rabbi Rahimi spoke of an earlier example in keeping hope alive.
“Gilad Shalit’s father stood on the road holding a sign. When asked, he answered, ‘As long as I can show that I’m not giving up on him.’” Shalit was captive for more than five years until his release in a prisoner swap.
“Subtract the number 68 from the non-Jewish calendar. It was 1,957 years ago,” Rabbi Rahimi said. “Do I make a difference fasting on Tish’ah B’Av? I did not give up on the concept of the Beis HaMikdash. Fasting and halachah show that we do not give up.”
He then spoke of former hostage Eliya Cohen, who was kept in a tunnel by an armed guard. “He was describing the details of being a hostage. A Hamas terrorist fell asleep. He davened to Hashem for a siman. The walkie-talkie antenna caught an Israeli radio station. He hears his mother screaming at a rally on the news. As soon as he heard it, it was the biggest hug from Hashem.”
Cohen was released to his mother Sigalit last February, after 505 days in captivity, speaking publicly about never giving up hope, knowing that Hashem and his family never forgot about him. Rabbi Rahimi then spoke about the sefer Chafetz Chaim, the popular and authoritative sefer on interpersonal relations.
“Imagine you have a person who donates, and your name is on a column in the Beis HaMikdash. Over and over in the midrashim, use the power of speech for the right things. Their names will be remembered as the founders of the Beis HaMikdash. Those who learn the sefer Chafetz Chaim every day. For two years, I’ve been advertising this. There’s so much to spread about the Chafetz Chaim.”
In this role, he speaks about the impact of learning this sefer at Chazaq events, the online platform Torah Anytime, on the phone with Partners in Torah, before young audiences at NCSY, and working professionals at BJX. As time goes on, he’s picked up stories from people who learned this sefer and experienced miracles in their lives.
“We met at BMG, a neis happened to him,” he said, speaking about a talmid who met him on a staircase at the yeshivah, where he shared his story. “He just got married. His wife was expecting, and she lost her job. He’s in kollel. She looked for other jobs and lost insurance, and she was due.” In such marriages, the wife is often the initial breadwinner, while the husband learns at the yeshivah.
“We did not know how to pay our bills. I remembered that you always mentioned learning the Chafetz Chaim. I started learning it daily with my wife for two weeks straight,” Rabbi Rahimi quoted the talmid. “You reduce lashon ha’ra.”
Two weeks after he began learning this sefer with his wife, a treasury check arrived in his mailbox, then a call from a school that initially turned down his wife for a teaching position. “A school that said they have more teachers applying than students. She got the job in a high school for more pay and fewer hours. He opened up his laptop, and the insurance was returned. All in one day. He told me this personally. That’s a neis!”
Rabbi Rahimi’s second story was about his sister. “She was in shidduchim for a while. Rabbi Yechezkel Menashe spoke at our house. She was learning Chafetz Chaim with her best friend. She got engaged, and my sister continued to learn. Then she got engaged to her best friend’s brother, the brother of her friend’s chasan.”
As it was the day after Rosh Chodesh Av, which is the yahrzeit of Aharon HaKohen, he spoke of the meaning of this date. “He was a person who utilizes opportunities,” he said. “He was an ohev shalom and rodef shalom. He pursued peace. He went out of his way to make shalom.” He noted that the S’fas Emes wrote that Aharon’s example contrasts with the causes of destruction marking the month of Av.
A final story shared that evening was from Rav Yechezkel Menashe, who also delivers lectures on Chafetz Chaim. At a Shabbaton in Tzfat, a mashgiach named Eckstein saved the life of a six-year-old boy whose grandfather was a philanthropist. When offered 26 million shekels for saving a life, Eckstein turned down the reward. “I’m not gonna take the money; saving a life is priceless.” The kabbalist Rabbi David Abuchatzeira met this hero and offered him a brachah to have his own son, who was born shortly afterward.
Rabbi Rahimi concluded by noting that sefer Chafetz Chaim can be studied with anyone, and he learns it daily with his wife, which greatly improves their shalom bayis. “I have many copies of this sefer in my car. Take one home and learn it.”
