I want to share with you a shmooze (informal talk) said over in the name of his father-in-law. He told him that we know that before he passed away, he called over his son Shlomo. He gave him a will, and he said, “Make sure you follow the ways of Hashem. Make sure you protect the Torah and Mitzvot (commandments). Make sure you always stand up against the world to protect the words of Hashem.” At the end, David HaMelech throws something to Shlomo HaMelech. It was very interesting, and it seems a little bit out of place. Says Rav Elyashiv, David HaMelech tells Shlomo HaMelech, “And by the way, Barzilai HaGiladi, that fellow and his family, make sure that even after he passed away, make sure they eat from the table of the king.” And asked Rav Elyashiv, “Who was this fellow, Barzilai HaGiladi, whom David HaMelech, before he passed away, told his son Shlomo HaMelech to make sure you watch over the way and give them extra good treatment?” Rav Elyashiv says, “When David HaMelech was running away from his own son Avshalom, at that time the culture was so against David HaMelech. Avshalom beno (his son) was able to take everybody with him against David HaMelech. Only one person took David HaMelech in to protect him, and that was Barzilai HaGiladi. So now that David HaMelech is king again and he’s about to pass away, he tells his son Shlomo, ‘Never forget how, when the whole world was against him—against me—Barzilai HaGiladi took care of me, to make sure his reward will be that he should always eat from the table of the king. He should always be treated differently. He should always be part of the palace.’”
Rav Elyashiv says, “And this is a message to us, Rabotai (my masters), and to our generation. We’re going to live in a generation before Mashiach (Messiah) is going to come, where the whole world is chasing Hashem out of their houses, where the whole world is not interested in Kedushah; they’re not interested in being holier to Hashem. Adarabba, the whole world is going the other direction, Bli busha, with no shame. But there is a certain small group of Jewish people who are taking the Kedushah inside their house, who want more Kedushah, more Shmirat Einayim, more holiness, getting closer and closer to Hashem. When Mashiach is going to come, Hashem will give a special reward to those Tzaddikim, the people who take upon themselves to watch their eyes. They’re going to be me'ochlei shulchanecha (eat from the table of the king) shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Rav Elyashiv says, ‘Rabotai, when we try to watch our eyes, although the whole world is telling us not to, remember, when Mashiach is going to come, those people are going to be me'ochlei shulchanecha shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu.’”