* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
This Shabbat will mark the ninth yahrzeit of Rav Yaakov Edelstein, the rabbi of Ramat Hasharon and spiritual leader of tens of thousands of people in Israel and around the world.
I reviewed the book we wrote about him, Sulam Yaakov, and chose seven of his recommendations that I would like to share with you today:
1) When people would come to him asking for a segulah (a ritual or action that would protect them or bring them good fortune), he would suggest that they adopt a new practice. For example, the Rav would encourage each person to honor Shabbat by paying attention to small details, like buying special clothes that they set aside for Shabbat alone.
2) He urged people not to look for ways in which people have offended them or to get worked up over small matters. “When a person gives up something for another, even if it’s merely offering them his place in line, this is a propitious time to ask God for what he needs.”
3) He would offer this witty and light-hearted remark when a child would misbehave: “We must always judge a person favorably (“ladun adam lekaf zechut”), but it is also important to tell him when he has done something foolish (”ladun oto lekaf shetut”).
4) He would comfort frightened children by urging them to recite verses from the Book of Tehillim (Psalms) and the Mishnah by heart.
5) Sometimes he would offer those who came for his counsel a simple piece of advice: Exercise. He believed in the importance of a healthy soul in a healthy body.
6) He would often send people to Holocaust survivors for brachot, saying. “These are holy people who have withstood a tremendous trial.”
7) On one occasion he stated: “Feelings of guilt are a ploy on the part of the yetzer hara (evil inclination) to confuse us and to cause us to ruminate about the past instead of thinking about the future.”
This is merely a small taste of the values taught by a remarkable person. I invite you to take upon yourselves a positive act his memory.
