There’s a Midrash (Midrash Raba Esther) that talks about the connection between the upper and lower worlds.
During the time of Purim, when the decree came out against the Jewish people, Eliyahu Hanavi (who’s like a “reporter”- he comes down for every Brit Milah and goes up to Shamayim to report on what’s going on downstairs), returned to shamayim and told Moshe of the decree the Jews were faced with. Moshe responded:
כלום יש אדם כשר באותו הדור.
Is there someone kosher down there? Eliyahu said
אמר לו יש ושמו מרדכי.
“Yes- and his name is Mordechai”.
So Moshe told Eliyahu Hanavi to go tell Mordechai to pray ‘downstairs’ and Moshe would pray ‘upstairs’. And they’d handle it. And the Midrash explains that when it says,
ומרדכי ידע את כל אשר נעשה
That Mordechai knew everything that happened,
It was because Eliyahu Hanavi had told him (since Moshe had told Eliyahu to find a tzadik ‘downstairs to pray.)
The rabbis point out an unbelievable concept from this: Moshe Rabenu is all powerful up in shamayim, but without us down here, nothing can happen upstairs.
We see from this that we empower things in Shamayim. That’s why as great as a person might be, he still needs a Kaddish. We, down here, help the people upstairs. That’s the reason for doing something le’ilui nishmat and of yarzheits.
The English book Aleppo City of Scholars was based on the Hebrew Sefer LiKedoshim Asher Ba'aretz by Hacham David Laniado, and was dedicated in memory of Jack Adjmi ah. In a haskama for the English version written by Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, the Rabbi writes:
“... I am amazed at the Divine Providence that has guided his family in linking this book to the respected name of Mr. Jack Adjmi. Rarely do we find someone who honored and loved rabbis as he did; he loved them with his heart and soul. How fitting it is that the book Lekedoshim Asher B’Aretz is being brought to a new generation in his name. This shows that someone who is careful to respect the Torah in his lifetime continues to do so while he is in the true world. The deeds of those who were inspired by him are now providing him with the merits that match what he did in his lifetime.”
You can’t have something done in a person’s memory unless that person deserved it. It’s not coincidence and it’s not about money. If the person in shamayim doesn’t have the zechut, they can’t get it. And it matches them, says Rabbi Hillel. Jack Adjmi loved rabbis, so his name is on the cover of a book that is dedicated to honoring Rabbis.
This is an unbelievable concept!
About six years ago Mrs. Diane Azrak ah passed away. At the sheloshim her family dedicated Rabbi Ashear’s Living Emunah Volume 1 in her memory. At the time, the rabbi was not as well known as he is now and Artscroll didn’t even want to publish the book. We had to push to get it printed. And the Azraks came in at the ground level and dedicated the book. Bh the book went on to become a brand name. The fourth volume has just been released! At the time though, I wondered why Mrs. Azrak had the zechut for this huge merit. Her name has been translated into Yiddish Spanish, French... Volume I has been printed in six languages!
And then a year after she passed away, her son shared a audio clip with me, something the family had forgotten they had. It was a short clip of her grandson asking her what her takeaway lesson from life was. She said, “Believe in Hashem. If you believe in Hashem, anything can happen.”
Then I understood. If this woman didn’t have Emunah, she never could have merited a book all about Emunah dedicated in her memory. It made sense to me.
We recently held our first Havruta night at Yad Yosef, leilui nishmat Rachel bat Shulamit. This event exceeded our wildest expectations. The shul was filled to capacity. At an arayat following the event, I discussed how it could only be her zechut and memory that allowed this to happen (and maybe that she shares a yarzheit with Moshe rabbenu.)
We can’t do anything alone and they can’t either. It’s a partnership. That’s Moshe Rabbenu continuing in every generation. That’s leilui nishma and that’s why we say Kaddish
And BeH this too will be leilui nishmat Rachel bat Shulamit.