* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
This evening marks 30 years since the passing of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. He was one of the greatest halachic authorities of our time who was also renowned for his exceptional character traits. Here are three stories about him:
* Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu relates: “The rabbi’s mother-in-law suffered from impaired vision and asked that someone record chapters of Psalms in order that she could continue to pray without a book. The rabbi was already considered a pre-eminent scholar and his time was extremely valuable, yet he still took the time to record chapters of Psalms in his own voice; if someone needs something, that ‘someone’ does not necessarily need to be a young man. A truly great individual will always find the time to do whatever mitzvah needs be done at any given moment. For such a person, there is no difference between one mitzvah and the next since all mitzvahs are vital.”
* Rabbi Auerbach would frequently say that it’s not enough to perform acts of kindness when such opportunities happen to come your way, but specific times for performing kindness must be part of our regular schedule. Just as we set fixed times for prayer and study, we must do the same when it comes to visiting the sick or extending ourselves in helping others.
* Rabbi Yonatan Bilt relates: “As a boy in the Shaarei Hesed neighborhood in Jerusalem, I once asked the rabbi if it was permitted to play a certain game on Shabbat. The rabbi did not say ‘forbidden’ or ‘permissible’ but played the new game enthusiastically with us children. He always gave you a feeling that you were his partner and of the utmost importance to him. A child who asks you a question, in his eyes, deserves a special relationship with you.”
This evening, everyone is invited to light a candle in his memory and learn a little from his collection of halachic rulings. Besorot tovot.
