I would like to share a fascinating story that we heard while in Eretz Yisrael, from Rabbi Yitzhak Soloveichik, who is originally from Monsey NY and is the great grandson of the Bet Halevi (Rabbi Yitzhak’s father was Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik. His grandfather, Rav Simcha Soloveichik, was the son of the Bet Halevi). One of the reasons our group went to meet him was due to the fact that we owe a lot to him, as it was his family that published the Bet Halevi’s manuscripts with essays on Bitachon, Ahavat Yisrael, humility and others. Those manuscripts would have been lost forever, if not for the efforts of this family. There are many different Brisker dynasties which trace themselves back to Rav Chaim of Brisk, but this branch of the family comes from Rav Simcha, who was Rav Chaim’s brother.
He shared the following story:
When his father was 15 years old, he accompanied his father on their way out of Europe. The Russians were very tough and obviously did not make it easy for Jews to leave, especially with their possessions. If the Russians thought that valuable items were hidden in their belongings, they’d use a spear to stab through the pile, searching for the hidden treasures. (The Rabbi told us that they still have in their possession a Sefer Yereim, with a hole from a spear through it.)
When the Russians were checking through their possessions, the Rabbi told him that all they had were books. The Russians asked them what kind of books they answered that the books were powerful writings about Orthodox Jewry. He further explained that if the were left in Russia, they would bring about more Orthodox Jews, so they’d be better off letting the books out of the country. The Russian officers agreed and told them to take the books out of Russia, because they didn’t want any of this type of writings.
That was how they got the Bet Halevi’s manuscripts out of Russia.
They were planning to take a boat to America, and had to stop in another country (possibly England) first. But before they embarked on that last leg of their trip, they realized that they were missing the valise with the manuscript. Rav Simcha turned to his 15-year-old son Rav Yosef Dov and told him, “I will not leave the shores unless I have my fathers manuscripts. Where are they?“ They thought back and realized they must have left the valise on the horse and buggy.
So young Rav Yosef Dov went to the police station to inform them of the problem. The police told him to maybe check their lost and found, but there was nothing else they could do, as they had over 2,000 horse and buggies drivers through the city. Rav Yosef Dov then asked if the drivers were licensed, and whether they had photos of them. The officers said that yes, they did. So the young man asked if he could look through the files of licensed drivers, to see if perhaps he’d recognize their driver. He searched through 2,000 licenses and recognized the driver that took them to the dock. He got the driver’s home address, and went to his house. The man’s horse was still warm- he had just gotten home. They checked the trunk of the buggy and found the missing valise.
If not for that story, we would not have our Bet Halevi on Bitachon. For whatever reason, Hashem is showing us, now, how sometimes things can be almost lost forever. But He shows us how He watches and guards over us.
Another story was shared with me this past Friday, when I visited Rabbanit Abba Shaul, the widow of Rav Eliyahu Abba Shaul, who passed away suddenly at age 70 recently. He was the son of Chacham Ben Sion, who was my rabbi. She and her son, Ben Sion ( named for his grandfather) told us a fascinating story.
Rabbi Eliyahu had been working for the past few decades on putting out his father’s sefarim, the famous Ohr L’Sion series. They have already published five volumes on Halacha, and others on Gemara and Musar. The Rabbi was currently working on a book on Ribit/interest, but they didn’t have any recordings of his classes on the topic Ezehu Neshech which describes interest, from the Gemara Bava Metzia. (In those days they didn’t have Rico, or somebody dedicated to recording every single class)
Then one day, when Rav Eliyahu was speaking with a man from Brazil, the man mentioned that his father had learned with Chacham Ben Sion, and that he taped the shiurim.
The rabbi asked where the recordings were, but the man said they couldn’t find them.
Chacham Eliyahu then called the man’s widow, who at the time was living in the Bet Yisrael neighborhood. He asked if she knew where the recordings were.
She told him that she had searched and searched but never found them. He asked her to please do him a favor and look a little harder, because they needed to find them.
(Of course, the rabbi wasn’t sure what topics those recordings were.)
The widow, in her renewed search, noticed a door on the floor that she had never seen before. It may have been covered by a carpet or something. But she open the door, and noticed an underground storage pit.
(Interestingly, as we learned when touring the Kotel tunnels, people used to store water in underground pits, But once plumbing was installed, these pits were no longer used.)
In that pit, there was a box of 250 recordings of Chacham Ben Sion speaking on the topic of Ezehu Neshech! They now have them, and are using them for the sefer.
Again, we don’t know why or how things are hidden, or why they become revealed when they do. It is all from the wonders of God. Like the Gemara says in Avoda Zara, “Blessed is God who gives the world to guards.” People are watching and guarding things, for the time that they need to come out.
Have a wonderful day.