Parshas Hashavua – Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld · Lesson 41 · 24 Cheshvan 5783
Chayei Sarah: 5783 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with a wonderful story: a certain tzaddik swore that a particular person would not have children. He went to Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, who swore that he would have children, but…
Guest: Shimon Zonnenfeld
Episode description
5783 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with a wonderful story: A certain tzaddik swore that a certain person would not have children. He went to the Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, who swore that he would have children, but when the child grew up he was a wild person. Delivered at the conclusion of the Daf Yomi shiur of Rabbi Betzalel Mizrachi in Nachlah
Machine translation into English of the automatic Hebrew transcript.
00:01 Speaker 1 Since we’re studying Tractate Nedarim and all the laws of vows and oaths, should a person make a vow or swear an oath? Is it forbidden? So there’s a story about a Jew who had no children, rachmana litzlan. He came—I think they tell this story about the Shpoler Zeide—and asked him for a blessing that he would have children. He didn’t bless him or answer him. Once, twice, three times—however many times he came, he didn’t answer him or bless him about this. One time, he caught him as he was passing by and wouldn’t move until he promised to give him a blessing. He stood there and pleaded. The Shpoler Zeide said to that chossid, “I swear to you that you will not have children.” The man went into shock. Not only had he failed to accomplish anything—
01:02 Speaker 2 But the opposite.
01:02 Speaker 1 Exactly the opposite. He had sworn that the man would not have children, and the man was very, very broken. He went to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, told him the whole story, and asked him for a blessing. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev said to him, “I swear to you that you will have children.” We learned in the sugya about whether the first oath takes effect or the last one does. He said, “I swear to you that you will have children.” A year later, that Jew had a son. Why did this oath come true and the first one didn’t? I don’t know. But what happened in the end was this: you know the Shapira brothers? They were the sons of Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz. They owned the Slavuta printing press. People informed on them to the government over various things, and they were imprisoned and tortured. They went through very severe suffering. It’s a whole story. The person who informed on them and caused all of that was the very son born after that oath that he would have a child. Yes. So we don’t know how the world’s accounts work. Sometimes, when we insist on something, we don’t know what the results will be.
02:26 Speaker 2 What sort of “jewel” will come of it.
02:28 Speaker 1 So the first one who swore the oath apparently saw what would happen in the end.
02:34 Speaker 2 Right. So let it be that way.