Chayei Sarah: 5784 - Gaon Yaakov: Why did the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, insist on going specifically through Shechem Gate? Relevant for our times as well. From his great-grandson Rabbi Shimon…

00:00 Speaker 1 Please.

00:02 Speaker 2 We’re on the eve of Shabbos Mevarchim for the month of Kislev. Kislev is a month of Geulah. We have Chanukah, we have 19 Kislev. It’s a month of Geulah, the most fitting month for the true and complete Geulah to come.

00:17 Speaker 1 Amen.

00:21 Speaker 2 When the Alter Rebbe was in prison, it is told that the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch came to visit him there. Their entire conversation is recounted. Among other things, the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid promised the Alter Rebbe that whenever there was a dispute between the chassidim and the misnagdim, the chassidim would prevail. That was their promise to the Alter Rebbe: the chassidim would always prevail. Similarly, in Israel’s wars, Hakadosh Boruch Hu promised: “It is impossible to replace them with another nation,” because “Hashem will not forsake His people and His inheritance.” So Israel will prevail; that is certain. Of course, there is all the sorrow and pain over those who have been killed and those who are being held hostage. But one thing is certain: Hashem will not forsake His people and His inheritance. We only need to strengthen our trust that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will surely guide everything. We can see that these are not the workings of human beings. Everything that has happened over the past month is being directed from Heaven. And surely, surely, all of this will ultimately turn out for the good, and the true and complete Geulah will come from it. In the 1920s, those same Nazi Arabs carried out riots in Jerusalem and Hebron. There were riots, pogroms—they carried out pogroms, because that is the nature, the DNA, of the Arabs: to carry out pogroms, especially against Jews. In the Old City, it was dangerous to walk through the Muslim Quarter. They would sit along the sides of the street, and for a Jew to pass through there at that time was dangerous. People would go only by way of Jaffa Gate. Anyone who wanted to reach the Jewish Quarter or the Kosel went through Jaffa Gate, so they wouldn’t have to pass through the Muslim Quarter. The rabbi of Jerusalem, who lived in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, was invited—he was a mohel—to perform a bris. This was my grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Chaim

02:59 Speaker 2 Sonnenfeld. He was invited to perform a bris in the new neighborhoods outside the walls. Because the situation was tense, his family asked him not to go through the Muslim Quarter, but to go by way of Jaffa Gate. They would arrange a carriage for him, as long as he did not go through Damascus Gate. But he said no. He insisted on going specifically through Damascus Gate, and that is the way he went. He performed the bris. It was a Friday. After the bris, he set out for home, accompanied by one of his sons. When they got near Damascus Gate, his son pleaded with him too: “Don’t go through Damascus Gate. It’s dangerous. Your life is at risk.” But he insisted. His son continued accompanying him until they reached the Musrara neighborhood, which, for those who know the area, is near Damascus Gate. Then he told his son, “You mustn’t go any farther. It’s dangerous. I’m allowed to go. Those on a mitzvah mission are not harmed, neither on their way there nor on their way back. I’m allowed to go. I can go. You mustn’t.” He would not let his son accompany him any farther. He went through Damascus Gate, past all the Arabs sitting along the sides of the street. It was Friday, their day. When they saw him, saw the figure he cut as he walked, they all stood up and bowed their heads respectfully. Afterward, people asked him, “Why did you insist on going specifically through Damascus Gate? It was dangerous. A person is not allowed to put himself in danger in the first place. Why put yourself at risk?” His answer was that he did not want them to entertain the thought that they had won, that they had stopped—and were stopping—Jews from walking through the Old City. He did not want them to have that thought. So he insisted on going through Damascus Gate to show them: here is a Jew walking through. This has implications for our situation today, when we find ourselves at war. So

05:14 Speaker 2 we need to show our strength: the pride of Israel, Jewish resolve. It must not be possible to do to Jews what was done in the past. We need to show Jewish strength and pride. And thank G-d, we are seeing help from Heaven, miracles and wonders taking place. That is alongside all the pain and sorrow over those who have fallen. But at the same time, so many miracles and wonders are being recounted—it’s astonishing. So we hope that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will fulfill His promise that Israel will prevail, that “He will subdue nations under us,” that all the enemies of Israel will suffer a great defeat, and that the people of Israel will have a great deliverance.

05:58 Speaker 3 Amen.