Pesach: 5783 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with several anecdotes about his great grandfather, the Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld z"l, relating to the hiddurim (enhancements) of the Pesach holiday. At the conclusion…

00:00 Speaker 1 Honored Rabbi Sonnenfeld.

00:03 Speaker 2 A few Pesach-related stories about the rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. First, about baking matzos. Usually, when people bake matzos, they try to take part in the baking. People are very tense and preoccupied. He would come to the matzah baking, sit down opposite the oven with a Tehillim, and recite Tehillim. He would say, “Master of the Universe, we’ve done what we can. Beyond that, we need help from Heaven.” A second story: Two Jews once came from abroad for Pesach. They came to him and asked to be his guests for the Seder. “Certainly—but on one condition, agreed in advance: we want to pay. We don’t want it for free. We’ll pay generously. We want to experience the Seder with you.” He told them, “Of course, please come,” and they paid generously. They sat at his Seder and very much enjoyed the words of Torah and the experience. Since they had come from abroad, they observed the second day of Yom Tov. They were staying at a hotel in Jerusalem, the same hotel where the Frierdiker Rebbe had stayed when he was in Israel. On the second day of Yom Tov—which was already Chol Hamoed in Jerusalem, though for them it was still Yom Tov—the rabbi of Jerusalem came to their room in the morning, wished them a happy Yom Tov, put the money on the table, and turned to leave. They were surprised: “Wait, but we made an agreement!” He told them, “Of course. But I agreed because I wanted you to feel comfortable and enjoy your meal. That’s why I agreed. But would I take money for welcoming guests into my home?” He wished them a happy Yom Tov and returned home. May everyone have a kosher and joyous Pesach.

02:16 Speaker 1 Amen. Amen.