Chukas: 5783 - Following Gimmel Tammuz and the maamar 'V'atah Tetzaveh,' on the subject of the level of self-sacrifice of a Jew stemming from the very essence of the soul: Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with a story about the 'Holy Thief.' At the conclusion of the class…

00:00 Speaker 1 Please. Following Gimmel Tammuz, everyone studied the maamar “Ve’Atah Tetzaveh.” There the Rebbe explains that there is faith that comes from “his mazal sees,” faith that comes from the essence of the soul, and, yes, self-sacrifice that comes from the very essence of a Jew’s soul. So to illustrate this, they tell a story. I think it was in Prague: in the cemetery there, there’s a headstone that reads, “Here lies Yossele the holy thief.”

00:43 Speaker 2 Ah.

00:43 Speaker 1 A headstone: “Yossele the holy thief.” What’s his story? Well, as in every town, there was that one fellow who was a thief. Yossele was known as a thief. One day he decided, no less, that there were all sorts of statues and valuable things in the church, and he would sneak in and steal from it. As he was climbing in, they caught him red-handed. Well, of course, they immediately seized him and imprisoned him. Stealing from a church was such a grave offense! They sentenced him to death, because it wasn’t just theft; it was a disgrace to the church. The Christians were very devout. In short, before they carried out the sentence, the priest came and told him, “Listen, if you convert, you’ll go free.” Yossele answered the priest, “I may be Yossele the thief, and I may have done this and that, but I’m a Jew, and I’ll remain a Jew.” They set up a barrel of oil in the town square and prepared to carry out the sentence. They brought Yossele the thief and began putting him into the barrel. His legs were already in when the priest came again and said, “Listen, you can still save yourself if you convert. Even though the burning has already begun, we have doctors who can heal you.” And Yossele the thief said, “No. I may be Yossele the thief, and I may have done this and that, but I’m a Jew, and I’ll remain a Jew.” And he was burned al kiddush Hashem. When the community took him and buried him in the cemetery, they placed a headstone over him: “Here lies Yossele the holy thief.” And that illustrates it: a simple Jew, without any understanding, without anything, was ready to give his life to remain a Jew. That is the power of self-sacrifice within a Jew. Have a good Shabbos.

02:48 Speaker 2 Have a good Shabbos.